


The Last Jedi Rewrite

by idrilhadhafang



Series: Star Wars Rewrites [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Armitage Hux Being An Asshole, Armitage Hux is a Jerk, BB-8 is a good friend, Backstory, Badass Finn, Badass Lando Calrissian, Badass Paige Tico, Badass Rose Tico, Bisexual Female Character, Canon Bisexual Character, Canon Rewrite, Competent Finn, Creepy Snoke (Star Wars), Everyone deserves better, Evil Phasma, Evil Snoke, Finn Needs A Hug, Fix-It, Gay Poe Dameron, Gen, Hosnian system destruction aftermath, Hurt Poe Dameron, Hux is Not Nice, Infiltration, Injury Recovery, Jedi Code, Jedi History, Jedi Rey, Jedi Training, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo Ren and Rey Are Not Related, Kylo Ren is Not Nice, Leadership, Leia Organa’s A+ Parenting, Luke Skywalker Is Not an Asshole, Luke Skywalker is not a coward, M/M, Mentions of execution, POV Finn (Star Wars), POV Kylo Ren, POV Leia Organa, POV Poe Dameron, POV Rey (Star Wars), Paige deserves better, Past Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Phasma Lives, Pilot Rey, Poe Dameron Needs A Hug, Poe Dameron deserves better, Prisoner Armitage Hux, Prisoner Phasma, Resistance Leader Poe Dameron, Rewritten Backstory, Rey Ren, Sad Luke, Sister-Sister Relationship, Snoke Being a Dick, Stormtrooper Rebellion, The Last Jedi Spoilers, Torture, Torturer Kylo Ren, Violence, discussion of torture that does not happen, finn/Rey if you squint, mentions of the Prime Jedi, snoke backstory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2019-02-18 03:29:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 19,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13091487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang
Summary: A fan rewrite of The Last Jedi.





	1. Ach-To

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Age of Ultron: Redux](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6461776) by [madsthenerdygirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madsthenerdygirl/pseuds/madsthenerdygirl). 



> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Well, idril went to see The Last Jedi, idril had mixed feelings about The Last Jedi, idril rewrote The Last Jedi. No idea how good it’s going to be, but it’s worth a shot. 
> 
> First chapter is picking up where TFA left off. It’s as good a place to start as any. I hated how Luke’s character was written in this (and it gets worse throughout TLJ, IMHO), so I thought I’d rewrite him, change his motivations for coming to Ach-To, etc. 
> 
> And thanks to MidgardianNerd for her new idea of why Luke threw the lightsaber. As ever, she is awesome!

Ach-To was beautiful. Even stepping off the Falcon, Rey didn’t think she had seen this much water in the galaxy, so many interesting structures. Heading up towards the top was a long walk, but eventually Rey reached it, and that’s when she saw him. A man, overlooking the oceans of Ach-To, dressed in a hooded pale robe. He lowered his hood, turned around, and that was when Rey saw him.

This was Luke Skywalker. This was the man who had saved the galaxy long ago.

She walked towards him, handed him the lightsaber. He looked over it, seeming bewildered — like he hadn’t seen this weapon in...how many years, exactly?

Then he threw it away.

Rey watched even as it soared in an arc over the cliff, landing with a thud. It must have been something that the Jedi Master wanted to forget, and the thunderous look in his eyes didn’t help one bit.

“Who are you?” he said. “What is your name?”

“Rey. I’m from the Resistance. Leia sent me.”

Luke walked over towards the lightsaber, grabbed it, and pocketed it. “We should probably discuss this inside. Follow me. And watch your step — Ach-To is pretty treacherous. I’ve nearly lost my balance quite a few times, actually.”

Following Luke, there were a few times when Rey nearly lost her balance, but eventually, they reached one of the huts. Rey sat down at the table, and Luke took out a bowl full of fish that he’d no doubt caught. Cooking took a while, but eventually, they had a meal of fish, which Rey all but wolfed down. She hadn’t had a meal like this, of real food, since...Maz Kanata’s castle, perhaps.

Luke looked at her, clearly bewildered. Then, “You didn’t really get that luxury, did you?”

“No.” Rey said. “We didn’t have...proper food on Jakku. We had portions, but not really food.”

Luke didn’t have to say a word. His who-would-raise-their-daughter-on-Jakku expression said just about everything.

“So,” he said. “How did you find me?”

Even telling the whole story, about BB-8, and Finn, and Kylo Ren, and taking the Falcon to Ach-To, Rey couldn’t help but be overwhelmed all over again. Even talking about Han made her voice crack and she had to look away.

“Were you a friend of Han’s?” Luke said.

“For my part,” Rey said. And that was putting it mildly. Han Solo was like the father that she never had, and Kylo Ren had killed him. All while Han was trying to help him. To do everything for him.

How could anyone give that up?

“I’m sorry,” Luke said.

“I’m sorry too.”

There was silence.

“So you came all this way to get me?” Luke said.

“Basically.”

Luke sighed. “Leia...means well without a doubt — ’’

“Means well?” Rey said. “She’s fighting against Supreme Leader Snoke and his men. The Hosnian system’s already been destroyed. The First Order May have lost at D’Qar, but they’re still regrouping.” A pause. “We need a hero, more than ever.”

Luke smiled faintly. “I’d say you’re stepping into that role nicely.”

“Thank you. But...we need Luke Skywalker.”

Luke paused. “This...is a difficult situation, Rey. I wish I could say it was simple. But I’ve been working.”

“Working?”

Luke scoffed. “You think I came to the most unfindable place in the galaxy for no reason at all? Come with me. I’ll show you.”

The walk over to the tree was treacherous, but they reached it. Rey could recognize it too well; when she was on Jakku, she had used visions of that island to ease her through the lonely nights. Cold nights on Jakku, wondering when her family would come back.

Luke looked at her. “You’ve been here before?”

“Only in dreams.”

“That’s...remarkable.” They headed into the tree even as Luke spoke, and Rey thought she could make out some sort of painting in the center, depicting scenes no doubt from when the Jedi Order was first formed. And books. Rusty books.

“That was before holobooks were invented,” Luke said. A rueful smile. “I’m not going to lecture you about before you were born. It would be no use.”

“So that’s what you’re studying?”

“Basically.” Luke gestured towards the books. “They’re old texts, but they’ve been useful.” A beat. “It’s not just the Resistance, is it? There’s another reason you’re here.”

“I want to learn about the Force.”

Silence.

“Are you sure?”

“I am. It’s always been there,” Rey said. “And now it’s awake, but I need your help.”

Luke looked hesitant. Then, “The last time I trained someone, I lost them horribly.”

“Kylo Ren may have failed you,” Rey said. “I won’t.”

Luke was silent. Then, “I’m not the teacher you’re looking for.”

“You’re the only one that I have,” Rey said. “On the Light, that is.” She bit her lip. “Kylo Ren...offered to teach me. I couldn’t, though. I couldn’t become like him.”

“Good on you.” Luke took a deep breath. “I can’t come with you to the Resistance,” he said, “But I can do what I can to help you.”

Rey grinned, and she saw that Luke didn’t smile, but something in his face seemed to soften a bit. “Get some rest,” he said. “Your training begins tomorrow.”

Even getting to sleep in one of the huts, Rey could swear that she saw a flicker out of the corner of her eye, a figure that looked too much like Kylo Ren, sitting there. She had felt him on the way to Ach-To, when she was trying to get to sleep, a presence in the back of her mind that she hated considering what he had tried to do to her. She turned on the light, looked around —

Nothing. Rey sighed, turned off the light and fell into a fitful, restless sleep.


	2. The Liberator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren meets with Snoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Figured I’d tweak the name of Snoke’s flagship as it was a tad redundant. Also, Snoke’s character is really mustache-twirly, so I figured that I’d tweak him a bit. Later a lot.

The _Liberator_ was named thus if only because of its owner’s desire to do good. Kylo Ren thought at least it was appropriate, considering Snoke’s vision, considering the roles he played as leader and teacher. His leader and teacher.

Stepping out of the turbolift, he heard Snoke speaking to someone yet unseen. “Captain Phasma.” He spoke in a scornful tone, making certain to accentuate her rank like she didn’t deserve the title. “I was expecting you.”

“As was I, Supreme Leader.”

Kylo continued down the hallway. Ahead of him, the throne room was all but drenched in red — appropriate, considering his master’s Dark Side allegiances. Though they were not Sith. His master had once said that they were above such petty labels as Jedi and Sith.

Snoke continued. “You betrayed the First Order, false Captain. You betrayed me.”

“Supreme Leader, I assure — ’’

“You think to lie to me, Phasma?” Snoke’s voice was a low, menacing hiss even as he spoke. “I sensed your foolishness, I sensed your fear when FN-2187 accosted you. You may have fooled the others, Phasma, but certainly not me. I never understood what General Hux saw in you. You always were a coward.”

Phasma actually seemed not shaken, but definitely surprised that Snoke had picked up on it. “There were extenuating circumstances — ’’

“Then you should have fought,” Snoke said coldly. “You should have fought, as any other stormtrooper would have done in that situation. I am ashamed of you, Phasma. Kylo Ren may have failed at Starkiller, as has General Hux, but you...you are a coward only out for herself. You are unworthy of the title of Captain. Leave, and do not return until you have earned the title of Captain, Lieutenant.”

The resentment in Phasma’s voice was palpable even as she said, “Yes, Supreme Leader.”

She left, barely acknowledging Kylo Ren even as she did so.

Snoke’s fury seemed to die down some even as he said, “Ah. Kylo Ren. You may enter.”

Kylo Ren already had a feeling that his master’s fury had only begun.

He entered the throne room, and knelt before Snoke, who looked down at him, his blue eyes piercing and scrutinizing. Kylo could swear that they stripped away the mask, saw right through him.

“My apprentice.” Snoke’s voice became a rumble again. “How goes your recovery?”

“It goes steadily.” Kylo Ren could use his arm again, at least, though the scar across his chest would always be there. He supposed it was fortunate that the scavenger hadn’t actually stabbed him.

“Take off the mask. Let me see you.”

Kylo Ren did so. He did not like taking off the mask — he felt exposed, vulnerable without it, as he did when he unmasked for the girl, and for his father. But he obeyed nonetheless. The scar was still healing, thanks to the work of a medical droid, forming a fine line down his face.

“Ah yes. There it is.” Snoke leaned forward. “I am disappointed in you, Kylo Ren. I expected so much better.” Snoke looked thoughtful. “It seems I was wrong.”

“I was — ’’

“Wounded, I see,” Snoke said. “You did well against FN-2187, I will not deny. And if not for the girl discovering her Force sensitivity, you would have won.” A beat. “Your loss at Starkiller is the least of anyone’s worries and fears. We have more urgent things to discuss. You would have willingly gone back to your father if I hadn’t intervened.”

Snoke had been there, in his mind that day, when Kylo Ren had confronted Han Solo. He had ultimately told Kylo Ren the truth — that Han Solo was lying to him, that neither Leia Organa nor Han Solo would ever accept him back. Especially not Leia Organa.

Except...had Han Solo been lying at all?

“No,” Snoke said, “Your crime is much greater than that. I would have given you the galaxy if I could, and yet it would never be enough for you, would it? How dare you even think about betraying me?”

And Kylo Ren knew, in that moment, that his Master didn’t necessarily see him anymore — but Yoda, and Maz Kanata, and everyone who had ever turned their backs on Snoke when he was on this quest to bring his own version of balance. He was as bad as them, even thinking about leaving Snoke behind. Besides, who would accept him? Who would even think to forgive him, after all he’d done? No one could. Not Poe, certainly. Not his mother — she had forgotten him long ago, sought to replace one son with another. Not the girl — she had explicitly called him a monster and she was right, in a way.

“Supreme Leader,” he said, “I was misled.”

Snoke looked down at him, his eyes critical, piercing. Kylo could swear that they saw right through him. Then, “Obviously. May your loyalty never waver again, my apprentice.” His fury was dying down, but only slightly. Kylo knew that he would have to work for the Supreme Leader’s forgiveness, and he was all right with that. Because in the end, the Supreme Leader was the only one who would accept him. In the end, the Supreme Leader was all he had.

Snoke took a deep breath. It was clear that he was trying to compose himself.

“We may have lost a valuable weapon that day,” said Snoke, and deep inside him, Kylo Ren could not help but be relieved that the weapon was gone. He had never approved of the idea of mass destruction, and the Hosnian system had been one of those instances where he fundamentally disagreed with the Supreme Leader. “But we are unbroken. This is not a loss that we suffered at D’Qar — this is an opportunity to crush our enemies once and for all. Machines are merely machines, after all. Structures such as the Death Star can be destroyed with the push of a button, but the fire that burns within us can never be extinguished. The Resistance, in all their foolishness, underestimates the fire that burns within our blood. Our rage, our fury — that, child, is blasterproof, lightsaber-proof. If not, we never would have gotten this far.”

“What do we do now, Supreme Leader?”

“The Resistance is a pack of fools.” Snoke said. “They underestimate our rage, and our resolve. They will not stop until we are decimated — but we will not stop until they are dead.” A pause. “Go to D’Qar. Wipe them out. All of them. Wipe these Resistance vermin from the face of the galaxy!”

“I shall, Supreme Leader.”

Even leaving the Supreme Leader’s throne room, Kylo Ren knew that he would not fail the Supreme Leader again. He would prove his loyalty.


	3. Siege

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> D’Qar is attacked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Warning for shooting of unarmed transports. I figured I’d make Phasma’s role larger, as I feel she got the shaft in TLJ. I mean, she was just a generally wasted character in both TFA and TLJ, so I thought I’d give her a chance to display her evilness. Worried I made Kylo too evil, though.

It was nightfall when the attack began. Leia awoke just as she was getting to sleep by a feeling that there was something terribly wrong. And it was then that she felt it. A familiar presence, a presence that she had felt before, watching Ben. And another presence, of someone she once loved before they had gone astray.

Snoke was here. And Ben was there too.

The First Order knew where they were. They had to leave.

She got dressed quickly before all but running out into the hallways. She knew that only worry for the Resistance carried her that far. The others were already emerging from their rooms as the alarms went off, murmuring in astonishment, wondering what was going on.

They met in the command center. Leia took a deep breath. The last time she had been chased like this, she had been chased by her own father. Father only in terms of biology, though — as far as she knew, this man had no right to call himself her father. Not after what he had done to her.

Now she was being chased by her own son. Her son, who decided to emulate Vader’s worst traits, without realizing why they were bad in the first place.

“Give the evacuation signal,” she said. “And get to your transports.”

The others ran off at once. Poe Dameron ran towards his X-wing, leapt into it, and Leia turned back towards the viewing screen. There were multiple TIE fighters coming in — and a shuttle that when it approached, inevitably meant that things were about to get worse. Not to mention the Liberator.

The Resistance could not possibly be any more in trouble than it was now.

“General.” A dark-skinned woman with curly black hair. “You’ve got to get to your transport.”

Leia took a deep breath. “On my way.” She would have to make sure everyone else got to their transports first. But she could do that. She could.

One by one, the transports shot away. And Leia could take comfort in the fact that they were on their way to safety, no matter what happened.

***

The stormtroopers and Kylo Ren advanced off the Upsilon shuttle, towards the base on D’Qar. The Resistance was already fleeing, rats leaving a sinking boat, but it didn’t stop Kylo Ren from tracking them.

“Sir.” Lieutenant Phasma turned to look at Kylo Ren. “Your orders?”

Kylo Ren took a deep breath. “Fire on the transports,” he said. “Let none escape.”

The stormtroopers fired. With their cannons, shots traveled up into the skies of D’Qar. Others would call it a disgusting act, but those were not innocents in these freighters, but traitors and murderers who would likely kill again.

Transports shot away, but others fell to the ground, stars falling from the sky. Kylo Ren already felt the lives of so many being snuffed out in just an instant and some would say he felt pleasure from it, but for him? All things served the First Order.

There were survivors from the crash, of course. Kylo Ren ordered the stormtroopers to retrieve the survivors from the crash, before getting back into his shuttle. He would have to explain to the Supreme Leader why exactly he had failed to kill all of the Resistance, but the Supreme Leader would be pleased with the deaths regardless. Among the First Order, the Resistance were the true monsters, and the more that were taken out, the better.

As a final gesture, Kylo Ren took out a flaming torch. He was about to toss it when he felt a familiar presence in the base. His mother, just getting out of the base. He paused. Could he do this? Could he kill his own mother like this?

Even killing Han Solo had been difficult. There had been something about what Han had said that made Kylo, momentarily, want to come home with him. That had been before the Supreme Leader had said that there was no chance that Han or Leia would accept him back. Except...

Except that last touch, that last caress to his cheek...had Han Solo been lying?

His mother left. Thank the stars. Kylo threw the torch into the base, and watched as it went up in flames.


	4. Relocation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo Ren reports to Snoke, Finn wakes up, Admiral Holdo is introduced, the Resistance goes to Crait, and Poe copes with the aftermath of his torture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: The little mention of Finn’s injury was inspired by something in the #starwarshatespoc tag on Twitter about how Kylo’s injury got mentioned but Finn’s didn’t. (Which I think was a problem in general before Rian Johnson came along; people made more of Kylo’s injury than Finn’s, but I digress) Also, I decided to add in a mention of Poe’s trauma because the movie neglected to mention it.

“The Resistance escaped?”

Snoke’s fury could all but be a force in and of itself, it was so very massive.

Kylo Ren nodded. “We managed to capture some Resistance prisoners — ’’

“Did you now?” Snoke looked thoughtful. “Good work. Though what’s interesting, Kylo Ren, is why you couldn’t kill the General. You were too willing to kill your father once I helped you come to your senses.”

“I didn’t have time — ’’

“Liar! Poor liar at that. You were weak. You couldn’t do what needed to be done. Even against a woman who has done nothing but hurt you.”

As always, the Supreme Leader was wise. And Kylo Ren, in that moment, felt ashamed.

“I have to wonder why that vile woman even decided to be a mother,” Snoke said. “To discard you for a son who wasn’t damaged is hardly a thing a mother would do. Not a true mother, in any case.”

And Kylo Ren knew the Supreme Leader was telling the truth. His mother had always feared and despised him. Even when he was a child. The fact that she chose Poe Dameron, ultimately, was more proof that not only did she want to destroy everything and everyone that Ben Solo had once loved, but she simply wanted a different son. A less “damaged” son.

“I never understood what she saw in that idiot,” Snoke said. “He doesn’t even have the Force.”

“He — ’’

“Not particularly talented, not particularly important...and yet she chose him. She is a fool. Unless she has a weakness for mediocre Forceless pilots.”

“He is the best pilot in the Resistance.” Perhaps that was why she cared about him. Favored him.

“Hardly a high bar,” Snoke said. “The Resistance thrives on mediocrity. They are unworthy opponents. I fought enemies in the past that were far worthier than them.” A beat. “I wonder if she even legitimately cares for him. She will disappoint him, I know that much. Just like she did you.”

“She will.”

The silence between the two was palpable.

“In any case, this is a minor setback,” Snoke said. “The Resistance can’t run forever. They will run out of fuel in time. And when we catch up to them, we will obliterate them.”

“But how?”

“The tracker,” Snoke said. “Isn’t technology today remarkable, Kylo Ren? It’s one of the few redeeming traits of other beings — their innovation. Medicine, technology...all of it has advanced ever since, and opened up new opportunities. But yes — we will be tracking them through hyperspace. Wherever they go, no matter where they go, we will find them. And we will obliterate every wretched ship until only ashes remain.”

“We shall.”

Kylo Ren only hoped he would not have to kill his own mother. Killing his father was horrific enough, a deed that was supposed to strengthen him, but made him feel the exact opposite of strong.

He couldn’t imagine what killing his mother would do.

***  
Waking up in...whatever that contraption was was disorienting enough for Finn. The most he could remember was that he was dueling Kylo Ren (and using a lightsaber, curiously enough, seemed to come easily for him), only for Ren to burn his shoulders and slice him up the back, and Rey —

It was then it occurred to him. Rey. She was still out there, wasn’t she, on the Starkiller planet or — or —

No, it couldn’t be. This couldn’t be —

“Finn!” Poe’s voice. The older pilot ran into the room. “BB-8 told me you were awake.”

“We’ve got to get to Rey before — ’’

“She’s off the planet.” Doctor Kalonia, this time. “She’s been off the planet for quite a while.”

“Rey’s...okay?” Finn said.

Kalonia nodded. “Far as I know, she is. She’s gone to find Luke.”

“So she must be...really far away.” Finn sat down. “At least the First Order can’t get to her.”

“I actually have a question for you,” Poe said. “How’s your back?”

In a way, Finn didn’t know the last time that one of the troopers had asked him that. He swallowed. “My back’s pretty kriffed up, but I’m fine.”

“That’s good. For a moment, Finn...I actually thought we lost you.”

And Finn doubted he could tell the last time that someone cared whether he’d lived or died either.

He forced a smile. “Thanks. But I’m okay, Poe.” _Or I will be._

***  
The meeting room was already crowded when Poe and Finn got in there. General Organa stood, in all her finery, and it occurred to Poe that she very well could have died in that fire Kylo Ren set. Yet another reason to hate the man, he thought.

General Organa cleared her throat. The crowd fell silent.

“As you all know,” she said, “We suffered terrible losses during our evacuation of D’Qar. Many of our comrades are dead or prisoners of the First Order.”

Next to Poe, a short, round-faced woman with black hair in a ponytail tensed. Rose Tico. Poe had seen her around in places, working on machines and things of that nature. Working on tech. Her sister must have been on one of those transports that had been shot down by Captain Phasma.

“We are the last of the Resistance,” General Organa said. “But we are far from alone. Every planet, from the Core Worlds to the Mid Rim to the Outer Rim knows our symbol, and it gives them what all rebellions are built on: hope. The Republic may be scattered, but it is unbroken. And a valuable asset has come to our aid.” She smiled faintly. “Admiral Holdo has agreed to assist us in our endeavors. Please welcome her.”

Polite applause greeted the Admiral, who admittedly was not who Poe was expecting. Purple haired, elegantly dressed, she was a series of elements that seemed so at odds with each other that it was strange.

“That’s Admiral Holdo?” Jessika Pava said. “ _The_ Admiral Holdo?”

“Yeah.”

Jess looked at her quizzically. “Not what I was expecting. Well, then again, I wasn’t expecting her at all.”

“We definitely need all the help that we can get,” Poe said. Even though there was something about this Admiral Holdo that seemed particularly odd. She seemed to be more dressed like a Senator than an Admiral. Of course, looks could be deceiving. “It’s just good that someone from the Republic’s helping us. Now we’ve got a chance.”

“Yeah.” Jess said. “Definitely.”

The meeting ended, with a promise of going to Crait, and they retired to their rooms. Poe couldn’t say he was looking forward to sleeping. Sleep brought the nightmares, usually about Kylo Ren, and the masked man reaching into his mind. No, not reaching into it, invading it, tendrils spread through it like tentacles. Tearing down Poe’s mental shields like they were made of tissue.

Drinking warm blue milk helped at times. At times. Listening to the Holonet. But Poe doubted that he wanted to go to sleep. Not once, not ever again.

BB-8 rolled over to his side, and Poe patted his dome. “Hey, buddy,” he said.

BB-8 beeped a series of concerned beeps.

“It’s not okay. But I’m fine.” Poe sighed. He was a fighter, after all, he always had been. And he was never going to stop looking for Ben, no matter what happened.

Another series of beeps.

“I hate him.” Poe’s voice cracked. “What he did to me, to so many others...I can’t forgive it. Honestly, buddy, I only want to talk about Kylo Ren when he’s locked away in a prison cell.”

BB-8 beeped in agreement.

“It’s just a matter of where’s Ben.” Poe sighed. “I know he’s out there, buddy. He’s out there, and he’s alone, and...” He broke off, his voice cracking again.

BB-8 gently butted Poe’s hand.

Poe smiled at him, weakly. “Thanks, buddy.” He rolled over on his side. “I just have to bring him home to me. I don’t know why the General doesn’t even talk about him. I really don’t.”

He closed his eyes, and in his dreams, he saw himself facing Kylo Ren, whipping off the mask that Ren wore —

— and seeing Ben’s face.


	5. Beginnings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Paige Tico is in a bad spot, and Rey’s training begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Merry Christmas! And I am aware of how ironic a Christmas update this is. Also, trigger warning for a torture scene. (Did not expect making Kylo so nasty, but I think that fits in with his TFA self)
> 
> Also, amended several parts of Rey’s meditation lesson. For starters, I thought Rey seemed unnecessarily like a moron in that scene never mind she reached out through the Force in TFA during her duel with Kylo (thank you, Kylo, for jogging her memory), and for another, I hated Luke’s reaction during the Mirror Cave scene. He was judgmental, self-righteous and a hypocrite considering that he himself was drawn to the Dark Side Cave on Dagobah. So I tweaked both things.

When Paige Tico woke, she was in some sort of room, a dark chamber with a long rack that she was strapped to, and a familiar figure stood over her. Her breath hitched even as she recognized who it was. Kylo Ren.

Ending up in Kylo Ren’s hands was one of the worst possible things that could happen. She could still remember those who had actually come back from interrogation, still having nightmares about the event, still talking about how Kylo Ren reached into their minds, how his outreaches could be like the tentacles of a sea monster.

“I did not expect to see one of the Resistance gunners onboard,” Kylo Ren said, almost airily, and there was something about it that was enough to make Paige flinch. The whole thing was enough to make her flinch.   
“Let alone one of the best.”

“You’re not going to have our location.”

“Will I?” Kylo said. “We’ll see.”

Even as he reached inside her mind, Paige tried to remember things that they had taught to resist Kylo Ren’s techniques. Things like counting sabacc cards, counting ticks in the power coupling — but it hurt, dear stars, it hurt, and he was tearing out every memory he could find, her memories with Rose, why she joined the Resistance in the first place, discussing Finn...

“You idolize the traitor,” Kylo Ren said. “He would disappoint you if you surely met him. He’s no hero — he’s a coward, plain and simple.”

“He’s more of...a hero...than you’ll ever be,” Paige said. Stars, it hurt. Kylo Ren being in her head hurt.

“That’s where you’re wrong.”

Kylo Ren continued to tear through her memories, ruthlessly, unyieldingly. Flight practice, practicing to be a gunner, talking to Rose about simply doing the right thing...he tore through her defenses like they were made of tissue, and finally...

_Naboo Takodana D’Qar Jakku Naboo Takodana D’Qar Jakku..._

The moment that he accessed a memory of Poe, his breath hitched. There was something about the way that Ren’s breathing hitched as he came across the image of Poe that already made Paige feel almost sick. It was something vaguely longing, and Paige didn’t want to think about this creature having feelings for one of his victims.

He left her head the moment he discovered where Crait was. “I have to say I’m impressed,” Kylo Ren said, more softly. His voice reminded Paige of a quieter Vader’s. “You fought.”

“Kriff you.” How could he conceivably torture her and then try and compliment her on trying to fight back? How could he say that?

“But you’ve been fighting for a cause that’s already a lost one.” Kylo Ren left. Outside, Paige could hear him talking to someone else. General Hux. Talking about reporting to Supreme Leader Snoke about what he found. Hux, making a thinly veiled jab at Ren’s failure with Rey.

Paige took a deep breath. She would find a way out of this. Somehow. She didn’t know how, but somehow, she would find a way out of this.

***  
Waking up on Ach-To was something still disorienting for Rey. She had been used to Jakku’s harsh sunlight and sweltering heat; the sheer peace of Ach-To was something she wasn’t used to. Even eating breakfast with Luke (more fish, but Rey supposed that it was better than portions), she couldn’t help but be amazed at the vast blue skies, the crashing waves.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Luke said.

Rey nodded, smiled.

“It’s one of the few benefits of being out there. Getting to see such beauty...” Luke sighed. “There’s so much of the island I want you to see.”

It was after breakfast (and Rey couldn’t say she was used to feeling full, not really) that they went up to the cliff, and Luke sat down.

“What are we doing?” Rey said.

“You never learned to meditate?”

Rey shook her head. “How is that going to help against Kylo Ren?”

“You’d be surprised. In old times, there were some Jedi who turned it into a weapon against the enemy. But for now...we’re learning it because it’s an important part of what it means to be a Jedi.”

“All right.” Rey sat down next to Luke. Overlooking the ocean, it truly was a beautiful place. The sea, the sky.

“Now close your eyes. Reach out.”

“Okay.” Rey did so. Reaching out was hard, of course, but it was just the matter of letting the Force in, as she had back on Starkiller when she had fought Kylo Ren. The Light that had always been there, protecting her. The Dark Side, which had felt too easy, actually. Like it had transitioned from letting in the Light to letting in the Dark.

“What do you see?” Luke’s voice, at her ear, murmuring to her.

And in that moment, Rey could swear that she was one with everything around her. The roaring tides of Ach-To, the crashing waves, the wind, the death and decay but also the new life there, the life that bloomed. And all of it wasn’t just crude matter, but something luminous, something truly transcendent.

“Life. Death. Peace. Violence. They’re all opposites, and yet...they’re all connected.”

“Balance,” Luke said.

“Yes. And...something else. There’s...something else.” Rey could feel it. Tugging at her belly, calling to her. Something cold. After feeling Kylo in the Force for the first time, she thought the Dark Side would be hot, but no, it was as cold as the Starkiller planet. “It’s calling me. It’s — ’’

She snapped out of it just then, and looked around, gasping for breath. “What was that?”

Luke looked solemn. Then, “It’s something I’ll have to show you for yourself. Come with me.”

It was a matter of getting through the blowhole over the oceans of Ach-To. Landing in the water was a shock for Rey — she hadn’t expected there to be that much water, but Ach-To was a very watery planet. She and Luke surfaced in the water, got out, coughing, and it was then that Rey noticed the strange mirrors.

The repeating images of herself that seemed to go on forever. All sorts of different Reys, all lined up in single file. All with Luke.

Rey turned to look at Luke. “You’ve been here before?”

Luke merely nodded. “It shows you your greatest fear,” he said. “For me...”

He stepped in front of the shard of mirror, and the figure in it morphed to show Luke, younger, his hair and beard a healthy shade of blond, messy and bloodied.

“I don’t understand,” Rey said.

“That was me,” Luke said. “When I first fought my nephew. My greatest failure.” He closed his eyes, and Rey reached out tentatively, put a hand on his shoulder.

Luke smiled at her weakly before saying, “Thank you.”

Rey stepped forward. The mirror was fogging up again, and she took a deep breath. “I’d like to see my parents,” she said. “Please.”

The mirror cleared.

It was then that Rey saw it. Herself, dressed in the uniform of one of the Knights of Ren, kneeling before Snoke — a sitting figure dressed in gold —

“No!” Rey stumbled back in horror. “No, no!”

Luke caught her before she could hit the water again. Rey took a deep breath, turned to Luke. “What was that?” she said.

“I don’t know. The future’s not set in stone. But...” Luke shook his head. “Snoke’s been calling to you ever since that fight in the forest, hasn’t he?”

Rey nodded.

“I’m not surprised. Snoke preys on those who are powerful. What he wants...I don’t know.” Luke closed his eyes. “I only know that he destroyed our family.”

“I’m so sorry for you.”

“Thank you, Rey. It’s...reassuring to hear.” Luke opened his eyes. “Snoke may have taken my nephew, but he won’t take an innocent just for his own sadistic pleasure.”

“He’ll have to go through both of us,” Rey said.

Luke smiled, faintly. There was something in that smile that might as well say, _Right on, Rey. Right on._ “Yeah,” he said. “He will.”


	6. Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey talks with Luke, and the Resistance gets in big trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.
> 
> Author's Notes: Figured I'd take a jab at the whole concept of the "getting in an X-wing and blowing something up" scene -- and Leia slapping Poe. I mean, that slap aside, Leia is completely wrong about Poe. It's not in his character. And I figured that I would have Kylo Ren take out the Raddus this time because I thought that him refusing to kill Leia kind of cheapened Han Solo's death in the previous movie. (That's just my opinion, of course)

It was sitting by the campfire later that Rey actually got to talk about what she saw in the cave. There was something about the campfire, at least, that was comforting. The flickering fires, the warmth of it all. 

 

“I just wish I’d learned more,” Rey said. “About my parents.” A beat. “Do you know anything about them?”

 

Luke shook his head. “In all honesty, Rey, I wish I knew. But your guess is as good as mine.”

 

Rey sighed and sat back against the wall. “I wish I knew who they were,” she said. “I was so young when they left me.”

 

“How old were you?”

 

Rey swallowed. “Five.”

 

“ _ Five? _ ” Luke said. “Who leaves their five year old daughter on a planet like that?”

 

“They left me with friends,” Rey said defensively. 

 

“Yes, but still...” Luke ran a hand through his hair. “It doesn’t sound like something that a parent would do.”

 

“They had their reasons!”

 

Silence. Luke looked at her skeptically. 

 

“What are you expecting to find when you see them again?  _ If  _ you see them again?”

 

“Being a family again. Getting to know them.” 

 

“What happens if you don’t find them?”

 

Rey, honestly, could not say that she considered it. 

 

***

 

They shot out of hyperspace and from above, Poe saw the pale planet all but looming in space. He had heard stories about this planet before, from his father, among many other things the Rebellion had faced — his father had always been more open to talking about such things than his mother. 

 

Unfortunately, their moment of peace looking over the planet didn’t last long. 

 

The first blast from one of the ships shook the  _ Raddus _ . And Poe already was not only in shock, but confused. “How did they find us?” he said. 

 

“I don’t know,” Snap said. “But we’ve got to do something.”

 

Some would say that Poe’s answer to everything was Poe jumping in an X-wing and blowing something up. It was too simplistic to say that, actually. It was just the matter of rising to the challenge and defending the Resistance, no matter what it took. So if it meant jumping in an X-wing and blowing something up...so be it. 

 

Even running towards the hangar, BB-8 at his heels, Poe knew he would defend the Resistance to the very last. 

 

***

 

Even getting inside a TIE fighter wasn’t something that Kylo Ren usually did. Back when he was a boy, he used to fly quite a bit, but that was —

 

Kylo Ren squashed those feelings down. He couldn’t afford to have them. Not now. He had to concentrate on his mission. 

 

To take out the General. To take out the  _ Raddus’ _ shields.

 

She was on the  _ Raddus _ , and he wondered if he could actually have the strength to do it. He hadn’t had the strength to take out his own father before Snoke had intervened. Before Snoke had him come to his senses. 

 

Could he do the same for his mother? 

 

_ For a woman that’s done nothing but hate and hurt you, it would be too kind to her, actually.  _ Snoke went silent for a while.  _ She has no love in that husk she calls a heart. Aim how you will, Kylo Ren.  _

 

His finger was already shaking on the trigger. He looked towards the  _ Raddus _ , where his mother stood overlooking the bridge. He could feel her, and he knew that she had never loved him, and never would. He always meant nothing to her. 

 

And yet...

 

He could swear he felt something else. Was she just scared for her life, or was there something else there?

 

***

 

He was here. Her son. And she could swear that she could feel the same light in him that she had at the Hosnian system. The same glimmer of it, but even a glimmer could become bright. 

 

And there was the darkness. Snoke. The presence that she had felt going after her son for quite some time. The presence that she had felt when Ben was still a baby, but that she had never been able to put a face to until later. Snoke. 

 

Her son was hesitating. Hesitating to pull the trigger. He couldn’t do it, even after all these years. Just like she had felt him initially hesitating with Han. 

 

There was still a way to turn him back. 

 

_ Come home, Ben. Come home.  _

 

Her son hesitated. Of all the things he’d expected, it certainly wasn’t that. 

 

_ Don’t listen to her, Kylo Ren. It’s a trick.  _ Snoke’s voice.  _ She may come as a woman of peace, but she is a monster, pure and simple. She gives out awards for mass murder, as long as it’s against the  _ right  _ people, she hated you as a child. She saw too much Vader in you. Even now, she’s replaced you with another: your mate, Poe Dameron.  _

 

Was that really how Snoke saw all of it? Or was he such a loveless being that that was all he saw? 

 

_ Kill her. Cut her out of your past. You and she cannot both survive. She is a toxin in your veins, a cancer in your soul. Kill her before she can do more damage.  _

 

_ Ben... _

 

She could already feel her son’s anger building, those feelings of abandonment and hate. And she turned to one of her gunners. “Open fire.” 

 

Her son dodged the blasts, fired at the  _ Raddus _ . 

 

The last thing Leia saw was the bridge of the  _ Raddus  _ all but bursting into flames. 


	7. Regroup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Snoke and Kylo talk, and the new Resistance leader is chosen while Leia’s incapacitated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Snoke’s opinions on Poe are purely his own, though his opinions on Leia were semi-influenced by my own anger. Leia seemed too eager to throw Ben/Kylo away, especially after a certain scene near the end of the film when she says to Luke that he’s gone. (More bullshit on toast, great. /sarcasm)
> 
> As for Poe taking Leia’s place instead of Holdo...I didn’t get in film why they used Holdo, considering Poe was set up to be Leia’s successor. Then again, I don’t get why they put Poe through the arc they did in the film. Poe deserved better. Anyway, I figured my arc for him would be more taking on the responsibilities of Resistance leader and knowing what it means. I hope it works.

“So you did your duty.”

The throne room was empty except for Snoke and Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren nodded. General Organa was not dead — he would have known if she was, actually. But she was still alive. A Resistance rescue crew had likely picked her up by now.

“For my part, Supreme Leader.” And even saying that, Kylo Ren felt sick. It wasn’t an easy thing to say, it never was.

“Excellent. You did well that day.”

Kylo Ren doubted he was sure.

“The Resistance are only good dead or incapacitated,” Snoke said. “Monsters, murderers, terrorists, thieves, scoundrels, bullies and vermin alike...they deserve everything they get and more. They aren’t just loathsome, as Hux would put it; they’re the true monsters. You did a hard thing, Kylo Ren, but the right one. The only thing a noble man could do under the circumstances.”

“I...”

“Let’s be perfectly honest,” Snoke said, “Do you think she actually had any love in that shell? She replaced you with Poe Dameron because he was less ‘damaged’, plain and simple. It would be a blow to her ego to have a damaged son.”

“Yes. It would.” It was a sobering truth, but a truth nonetheless.

“Don’t blame yourself, Kylo Ren. Your mother, who only got the title because she and your father mated,” and here, Snoke made sure to put a scornful emphasis on “mated”, “Was always a loveless creature. Giving out prizes for mass murder, prejudging others...you were just one of her many victims. I never understood her attachment to a mediocre Forceless pilot. He’s certainly no one special, or important.”

“He — ’’

“Or perhaps she liked him because they were both spoiled self-righteous swine. It would make as much sense as anything.” Snoke looked thoughtful. “Birds of a feather flock together, as you humans say.”

“Perhaps.” Though Poe was so very unlike Leia Organa in every way. Kind where she was cruel, for example.

“It does not matter. Once he breaks, she’ll discard him as she discarded you,” Snoke said. “I do wonder who she’ll replace him with? Snap, perhaps? Jessika Pava? I do wonder...”

“I don’t know.” At least, for the moment, Kylo Ren could breathe.

***  
If not for the rescue team, Poe didn’t know where the General would be right now. Right now, she was in a coma, and there were debates as to who would take her place.

Eventually, D’Acy said, “With the General incapacitated, it is obvious who should take her place...Commander Poe Dameron.”

The applause practically rang out even as Poe walked to the front.

Poe took a deep breath. He didn’t know how he was just going to accept this strange and new position with the General in a coma. It wasn’t going to be an easy thing, he knew that much. But whatever happened, he was going to make the General proud.

He could only hope that she would be proud of him, at least.

“We’ve suffered a terrible loss,” he said. “More than one, actually. But we are unbroken. The First Order may think it’s broken us, but we are far from broken. In fact, we are stronger than ever. The First Order has performed multiple atrocities on us — torture, mass-murder, killing off those we care for, but they can never, ever break us. Let the First Order know this — we may be few, but we are the spark that will light the fire that will burn the First Order down. We will not give up, we will not surrender, we will not back down.” Poe took a deep breath. “No matter what.”

The Resistance broke into applause, and Poe took it in, knowing that in that moment, he wasn’t just a Commander anymore.

He was a full Resistance leader.

Jess and the others surrounded him long after he walked away. “Hey,” Jess said, “Good luck. You’re gonna be great.”

Poe smiled. “Hope so, Jess.”

He could only hope that he could make the General proud. 


	8. Infiltration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A plan is hatched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: If Holdo seems OOC, it’s mostly because I didn’t like how she treated Poe in TLJ. And don’t get me wrong, Poe didn’t exactly bolster his case, but he was called out on it and disproportionately (IMHO) punished by Leia. Holdo really wasn’t called out, and her decision stank of the Idiot Plot. I figured I’d have her and Poe on more even footing, especially since Poe’s arc here is definitely about becoming a leader in his own right.

“So there’s something about all this that doesn’t make sense.”

They sat in the conference room, and Poe couldn’t help but feel like there should have been a seat where General Organa would be. Even addressing the group, he tried to stay focused on Finn, Rose and Holdo’s faces (to name three), just to not notice the conspicuous absence of General Organa.

Of course, usually she would be doing this, and he would be reporting to her. So there was that.

“How they managed to track us through hyperspace is a mystery.”

Finn spoke up in that moment. “I think I know what happened,” he said.

The others turned to look at Finn. Holdo looked at him critically — Poe could practically feel the distrust radiating off her. He turned to look at her.

“Finn,” he said, “Is as much of a hero as anyone. He turned his back on the First Order even when it nearly cost him his life. If not for him, I doubt we would have won at Starkiller. Show him some respect, Vice Admiral, for the stars’ sakes!”

Finn shot Poe a quick smile; it was no doubt Finn’s way of saying “thank you” in that moment. Poe didn’t say anything. Just a nod.

Holdo nodded. “Very well,” she said.

Finn sighed. “So,” he said. “The First Order’s been developing new technology to stay ahead of the game. I’ve caught bits and pieces only, but they were talking about building a device that could track ships through hyperspace. That must be how they found us.”

“So we have to disable it.” Poe said.

“Exactly. But I don’t think we can just waltz in to Snoke’s flagship. We have to come up with a plan.”

Poe’s stomach clenched. “What are you proposing?”

“Infiltrating the ship.” Finn said. “I’ll disguise myself as a First Order officer — ’’

“What if they recognize you?”

Finn laughed. “They won’t. A lot of people haven’t seen my face. They mostly know me by the helmet. Phasma...Captain Phasma even had soldiers who so much as removed their helmets sent to reconditioning.”

Next to Poe, he swore something changed in Holdo’s eyes. Her face remained impassive, but something changed. He couldn’t say he blamed her. What a life someone had to live, under that sort of oppression. Poe couldn’t imagine. Rose, meanwhile, looked horrified.

Finn continued. “My point is that if I could use what I know about the First Order to my advantage, we actually have a chance of winning this.”

Holdo looked at Finn. “How do we know that you won’t betray us? Even the First Order has their ways.”

“I’d rather die,” Finn said, “Than have them recondition me.”

Poe swallowed. He didn’t want to think about Finn dying. Not in that moment. “Don’t die on us.”

“I won’t.”

“I’ll go with you,” Rose said. “My sister may be a prisoner of the First Order, and if she’s still alive, I want to save her.”

Poe swallowed. So that was what it meant to be a leader of the Resistance. Having countless lives in your hands. He had experienced it on a smaller scale, with taking care of Black Squadron, but never like this.

“Good luck, Finn,” Poe said, and in his heart he hoped that both Finn and Rose would make it out alive. Infiltrating the First Order was definitely no easy feat.

He could only hope that he wasn’t sending Finn and Rose to certain capture. The First Order was far from kind to their prisoners. Poe knew from experience. And he had heard stories about what the First Order did to stormtroopers who were even so much as suspected of insubordination. They were reconditioned. If he had sent Finn off to reconditioning...

Poe sat down in his seat and rubbed his temples. “Stars, I hope that I’m doing the right thing,” he said.

“That’s what being a leader is all about,” Holdo said. “Making the difficult decisions.” She seemed softer than usual, Poe couldn’t help but think. Almost like she understood.

“I guess.”

“Are you and Finn — ’’

“We’re good friends,” Poe said. Finn had helped him, in a way. In a way, he had made Poe better. After Ben...

Poe’s thoughts trailed off. Was Ben still alive? He had to be. The idea of Ben dying was almost inconceivable. He could remember Ben’s radiant grin, and he had to look away from Holdo because even that memory hurt.

“Are you well, Commander?” Holdo said.

Poe forced a smile. “Fine,” he said. He wasn’t the type not to display his emotions, but he had a feeling that in front of a Vice Admiral wasn’t really the time or the place.

“I should hope so.” Holdo sighed. “Leia spoke highly of you.”

“Who do you take me for?” Poe said.

“You’re young — ’’

Poe chuckled. “Not that young. Thirty-two actually.”

“Right. But you’re young. You’re impulsive. You’re going to have to rein that in for when you’re a leader. It’s not easy. I had to rein a lot in to become Vice Admiral.”

“I can imagine.” Though she doesn’t seem to have reined in other things. “I’m not some hotshot flyboy. I’ve been at this for years.”

“So have I.” Holdo paused. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to belittle you in any way. I’ve merely seen people who have been reckless in the past. People who believe that blowing things up is the best way to solve problems.”

“Yeah,” Poe said. He couldn’t disagree with her on that.

“But at the same time, from what I’ve seen of you, you are reckless, but you have a good heart. You’re respectful, which is a hard trait to come by nowadays. You’re a natural leader.” A pause. “Do you think Leia actually leaves me out of the loop when it comes to these things?”

“No.” A beat. “Did the General ever have to make the hard decisions?”

Holdo was quiet. Then she said, “Everyone in a position of leadership has to make the hard decisions, Commander. If you haven’t made the hard decisions, I daresay that you haven’t really been tested.”

Poe supposed that he couldn’t disagree with that. He could only promise himself that he would rise to the challenge, no matter what it took.


	9. Canto Bight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Finn and Rose arrive at Canto Bight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Cut out DJ because seriously, he was a Lando stand-in (minus Lando’s character depth and an infinite number of Unfortunate Implications) that really was pointless to the plot. The people in the #starwarshatespoc tag on Twitter (which I recommend checking out because they really do make good points, even if I disagree with how they perceive Kylo) actually questioned why Lando didn’t show up. I figured I’d add Lando back in to fix that. 
> 
> Also, special thanks to an article on Scavenger Holocron (here: http://scavengersholocron.com/category/home/why-the-last-jedi-isnt-just-bad-its-toxic/) for pointing out a problem in a deleted scene with Rose acting petty over Rey. Decided to fix that too because it’s such a tired, sexist trope and...well, Rose, Finn and Rey deserve better. Seriously.

The trip to Canto Bight seemed to take an eternity. That was the thing about hyperspace routes — they didn’t care that you were basically on some sort of time crunch, to say the least — they mostly seemed to care about obeying the laws of space travel. Even if it meant taking things as slow as possible.

Finn already couldn’t help but feel restless. Not just at the fact that they had a limited schedule, but at the fact that it seemed some of his old worries seemed to be creeping back in.

Rey. Just another person that, along with Poe, meant so much to him. Poe, who had given him a chance to be out of the First Order, to have an identity of his own. Rey, who had looked at him like others — save Poe — hadn’t.

He fiddled absently with the communications system. Not that you could contact anyone in hyperspace. And he doubted that the planet Rey was on had any way to contact anyone.

Finn sighed. As far as he knew, there was no way to contact Rey. They were good as cut off from each other; she was on Ach-To, he was heading to Canto Bight. Maybe that was for the best, in the end. After all, if the First Order knew where she was, they wouldn’t hesitate to come after her...

He rubbed his temples. He couldn’t bear the idea of Kylo Ren even coming near her again. After he had tortured her. After he had knocked her into that tree.

“You okay?” Rose’s voice.

Finn turned to look at her, smiled faintly. “Fine.”

“You don’t look fine, y’know.” Rose said.

“I’m worried about Rey.”

“Your friend’s gonna be all right,” Rose said. “I know it. From what I heard, she’s quite the hero herself.”

“Yeah.” Finn smiled, genuinely this time. “Yeah, she is.” Defending a droid that she hardly knew, for example. Being willing to defend him. Apparently defeating Kylo Ren. All of it...all of it was really something.

Rose, meanwhile, seemed tense herself.

“You okay?” Finn said.

“If they’ve hurt Paige...”

Finn put a hand over hers. “If they’ve hurt your sister, we’ll give them hell to pay. I promise.”

“Yeah.” Rose took a deep breath, looked down at the display screen. “Looks like we’re coming up on Canto Bight.” Maz Kanata had said earlier that they should be expected to find Lando Calrissian there, where he could get them into Snoke’s flagship to disable the tracker and rescue Paige and the others.

“Finally.” Finn said. “Took it long enough.” He sighed. “Sorry. Just worried.”

“Don’t be,” Rose said. “I mean, what’s the worst that can happen?”

Landing on Canto Bight was difficult, though. After very narrowly avoiding punishment for a landing issue — and Finn had been so tempted to say that it was a landing pad, ships landed on it — trying to find Lando was also difficult. In between interacting with the various clientele of Canto Bight and more, they finally found Lando per Maz’s description: an older man with russet skin and graying hair, talking with one of Canto Bight’s inhabitants. It was once he saw them that he said to his friend, “Excuse me,” before heading over to Finn and Rose.

Nobody came to Canto Bight that often, apparently, Lando said.

“Can’t imagine why,” Rose said bitterly.

“Yeah. Who are you?” Lando said.

“Finn,” Finn said.

“Rose,” Rose said. “Maz Kanata sent us.”

“Maz, huh?” Lando said. “How is she?”

“Good,” Finn said. “Listen, Mr. Calrissian — ’’

“Call me Lando.”

“Right. Lando. We need your help on something, but we’re going to have to talk to you where there aren’t people listening.”

“Gotcha.”

It was in private that they told him the plan, and Lando raised his eyebrows. “Sneaking onto Snoke’s flagship, huh? Pretty bold.”

“Yes,” Rose said. “But we need your help. The Resistance needs you.”

“Sounds like you need all the help you can get. No problem. Though...you’re not expecting to just waltz on Snoke’s flagship without — ’’

“Finn’s got that covered,” Rose said. “We just need uniforms.”

“Maz probably has them,” Lando said. “You name it, she has it.”

“Then let’s get going.”

Maybe sneaking onto Snoke’s flagship wouldn’t be an easy thing, but at least they had some stuff to use to their advantage.


	10. Taking Leave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn, Rose and Lando head off, and Poe talks with Holdo and an unconscious Leia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Fixing my own mistakes this time instead of TLJ’s — Leia got a bit out of focus. That was why I added in that scene with her and Poe.

As it turned out, Maz did have the uniforms that they would need. “It wasn’t an easy thing to acquire them,” she said, “But they should get you what you need.” A beat. “Be careful. Infiltrating the Liberator itself is no easy feat. Even to disable a tracking device.”

“It’s not,” Finn said. He’d heard stories too about Snoke’s cruelty, mostly whispers, but stories nonetheless. He’d heard stories about what the First Order did to stormtroopers with even the slightest hints of nonconformity as well — even that had hovered over Finn like a shadow for twenty-three years of his life. Twenty-three years was too long to be afraid.

Reporting to Poe and putting on the uniforms was enough to make Finn feel like he had stepped into a whole other world — and far from a comforting one at that. He couldn’t say he was looking forward to returning to the First Order, but he would do what he could just to help the Resistance.

“Be careful,” Poe said.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” Finn tried to joke.

“Just be careful.”

“I will.”

And heading off to the hangar to meet with General Madine — who had somehow acquired a First Order shuttle. After all these years, that man was amazing — Finn knew he would be.

***  
Even as Finn, Rose and Lando left, Poe sighed, rubbed his temples. “Be safe,” he murmured.

“They will be.” Holdo said. “Rose especially — she’s very smart.”

“True.” From what Poe had seen of her, Rose Tico was no slouch. Not even a little bit. “How’s General Organa?”

Holdo’s face softened. “You want to see her?”

“Yeah.”

There was something about seeing General Organa hooked up to a life support machine that was enough to make Poe feel sick. She shouldn’t be this way. Not because of Kylo Ren...

Kylo Ren. How he hated Kylo Ren. Even thinking about it was enough to make white hot fury well up behind his eyes...

“Poe?” Holdo’s voice.

“I’m sorry.” Poe sighed. “She shouldn’t be like this...”

“I know. I never thought...” Holdo trailed off.

“Never thought what?”

“It’s a secret of the General’s,” Holdo said. “She had a good reason to want to keep it, and I can’t betray her confidence.”

“All right.” Even so, Poe couldn’t help but feel suspicious. What had Holdo meant? And what was it about that horrible day that Leia Organa so desperately wanted to keep a secret? “If they find any trace of Ben...”

“Ben Solo?” Holdo said. “You were a friend of his?”

Poe found his cheeks coloring.

“More than that? Come now, Commander — no need to be self-conscious. I always found solely dating the opposite gender terribly limiting after all.”

“Well, thanks.” Poe sighed. “I did love him.” _I would tear down this whole damn galaxy to find him I love him so._

Holdo looked at him, compassion in her eyes. “Do you think he’s — ’’

“Alive?” Poe sighed. “I don’t know. I hope he is.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Dear stars...”

Holdo was quiet. Then, “I hope you find what you’re looking for, at least.”

Poe sat down by General Organa’s side, took her hand.

“Finn, Rose and Lando are headed out there,” he said. “They’re gonna save us. I know it. I promise.” A pause. “I hope I’m doing well as leader of the Resistance. It’s not easy without you here, but I hope I’m doing well.” A beat. “I’m gonna make you proud, General. I promise.”

She didn’t respond, but Poe hoped that at least somewhere, she heard him. Somehow. And he knew that they would do anything to make her proud, no matter what.


	11. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey is curious about Luke’s past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Figured I’d put Rey back at the forefront of all this. Also, fuck me gently with a lawnmower, there was a lot to fix in this chapter. Ben’s backstory, Snoke’s lack of one, Luke blaming the Jedi for Sidious and Vader’s rise (which is just bullshit, and I don’t even like the Jedi), Rey’s lack of training...yeah, I definitely had a lot to fix. Also, sorry it’s short. I hope it’s enjoyable nonetheless!

Rey was practicing even as Luke watched. He watched, and he couldn’t help but feel like he’d seen a ghost. Another student, though definitely younger then than Rey was now, practicing. For a moment, Rey dissolved, replaced by Ben Solo, practicing his lightsaber moves. And with it, he could remember. Ben, building his first lightsaber, and the look of pride in his eyes even as he held it out. “It’s cool, isn’t it?”

And Luke had smiled back then, and said that yes, it was cool. He hadn’t known that lightsaber would go on to butcher countless innocents. And the warped thing about it was that he still loved his nephew.

He shouldn’t. Logically. But then again, logic hadn’t necessarily played a part in saving Vader. Love had.

And he had tried to save Ben. Stars willing he had. But Ben had ultimately been lost. For that moment, the Dark had won.

Rey finished her training, and headed towards Luke. “You have some skill,” he said.

“It’s not that much different from using a staff,” Rey said.

“No,” Luke said. “It’s not.” He took a deep breath. “Come with me, Rey. I still have a lot to teach you.”

***  
They met back in the tree, and there was something oddly cozy about it, Rey couldn’t help but think. Sitting with Luke, one of those dusty Jedi texts on her lap, Rey felt strangely comforted. Below was a painting of a strange being — the Light Side on one side, the Dark Side on the other.

“What is that?” she said.

“The first Jedi,” Luke said. “An imperfect being, as we all are fundamentally. He was actually the one who invented the Jedi Code. Unfortunately, he got the idea that the key to resisting the Dark was to suppress emotion instead of accept that emotions are very much a part of the sentient experience. It was after a terrible betrayal that he invented the Jedi Code, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to believe that he was still grieving himself.” A beat. “That betrayer went on to become the first Sith, and so the same script has played out over the centuries, just with different circumstances and different players and different names. Ben was just the latest one.”

“I’m sorry,” Rey said.

“Don’t be. Ben was...troubled. Not a bad person, though. Being troubled doesn’t make you a bad person.”

“Of course not.”

“Snoke preyed on his weaknesses. As all Dark Siders have in the past, as it was done to them in turn. The Dark Side is a cyclical thing, Rey. A predator. And it makes predators of all of us, makes us into people we never thought we’d be.”

Rey nodded. Snoke preying on her, taunting her, in that forest, was proof enough.

Luke continued. “Snoke was preying on him from childhood. Communicating with him. He stopped for some time, but then Ben started getting visions. We went to investigate in the Unknown Regions, and we were captured.” A beat. “Snoke...he had been building up his own Empire for quite some time.”

“The First Order?” Rey couldn’t help but be horrified, and yet she wanted to learn more.

“Yes. Snoke had a vision in mind. A vision of greatness, and grandeur. He said that the Jedi had not succeeded in bringing balance to the Force. That they were arrogant, weak, unkind, and had lost their way. He kept talking. Explained himself.” Luke closed his eyes, almost like he was sickened by Snoke’s justifications. “Stars, Rey, the way he justified himself — it was like up was down and left was right in his view.”

“How was he any better than how he described the Jedi?”

“I don’t know. But he wanted Ben to join him. He saw Ben as the key — the one with a balance of Light and Dark in him. Yoda and Maz Kanata had already turned their backs on him — ’’

“They knew him?” Rey couldn’t think of less likely beings to know him.

“Yes. Snoke spoke of them. I think Snoke didn’t just want someone to teach, but someone who wouldn’t ‘abandon’ him like Maz and Yoda did.”

“He brought it on himself,” Rey said.

“Yes. But Snoke...I don’t think he knew that.”

Rey couldn’t say that she knew how to feel. Kylo Ren was a monster, without a doubt. But Ben had been innocent. Ben Solo hadn’t stood a chance against someone who had fundamentally believed that his evil deeds were righteous.

Even feeling pity for Kylo Ren was uncomfortable. Rey bit her lip. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Your family deserved better.”

“Thank you, Rey. We should get to studying. Open your book to page six...”


	12. Monster Among The Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn, Rose and Lando infiltrate the First Order, and their skills are put to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Even infiltrating the Liberator, Finn couldn’t help but be amazed at its sheer size and scope. It was enormous, practically blotting out the stars, and the already small shuttle that Finn, Rose and Lando were in felt practically tiny next to the Liberator.

“That is a big ship,” Rose said.

“Yeah.” Finn had heard stories about the Liberator, and even some stuff from the other First Order soldiers described it as a sort of monster among the stars. He definitely wasn’t prepared for how vast it was.

“Wonder if Snoke’s overcompensating,” Lando said wryly.

Finn shrugged. “I didn’t build the ship.”

The shuttle pulled in towards the hangar, and a voice crackled over the intercom. A rather haughty voice, Finn thought, that could probably leave slime in its wake. “This is General Hux of the First Order Star Destroyer the Liberator. Please identify.”

Finn cleared his throat. “General Hux,” he said, taking care to change his voice, though not making it sound too haughty or slimy (Hux would probably think that Finn was making fun of him, which would blow their cover immediately), “We’re new recruits for the First Order. We’re interested in joining you.”

Silence. Too long a silence. All the while, Finn was nervous — what if Hux saw through their plan?

“What do you mean by ‘we’?” Hux said. “There’s more of you?”

“Yes, there are.”

Lando spoke up. “This is Lando Calrissian of Cloud City. We’re interested in offering an alliance.”

“An alliance?” Hux sounded the closest thing that the General could be to surprised — his voice seemed to shift a bit.

“Yes.”

“Why should we trust someone who double-crossed Darth Vader himself?”

“The Resistance distrusted me,” Lando said, and in that moment, it was too convincing. Even as Rose moved to speak, Finn put a hand over hers — it was too early to say anything. “General Organa has never forgiven me for doing what I did to protect my people. Her friend, Chewbacca, even tried to kill me.”

“That’s the Resistance vermin for you,” Hux sneered. “Hypocrites to the last. They see treachery in others, but not themselves...”

“Indeed,” Lando said. “It took me a while to realize it, but here I am. My friends and I would like to offer our services to the First Order.”

“And your services are accepted.”

Landing in the hangar bay, they stepped out, and Hux examined them. He lingered on Finn for a while before saying, “Follow me.”

Finn, Rose and Lando did. Past them, stormtroopers marched, and Finn was already unnerved by how precise they seemed. He forced himself to keep a stoic face all the while.

“Lieutenant Phasma and Lord Ren are currently elsewhere,” Hux said. “However, it is no matter. As you can see, the First Order has already been progressing on schedule. The Resistance believes that they can run forever. They can’t.”

And Finn already knew what Hux was talking about. The tracker.

“That’s very interesting,” he said. “How are you planning to do that?”

“Technology is truly miraculous. Our inventors made a device that can track Resistance ships through hyperspace. They’ve been developing it for some time, but only now has it come to fruition.” And the way Hux sounded, he might as well have been on the brink of giving a speech.

Hux showed them to their quarters — rather fancy quarters, actually, Finn thought. Almost decadent. “Your training begins tomorrow,” he said. “Don’t miss it.”

He left. Rose sighed. “Thank the stars he’s gone,” she said once Hux was completely out of earshot. “I hate him. The murders he’s committed, the _abuse_...”

“I know,” Finn said. “Come on. Let’s get going.”

They headed off, and Finn could hope that he wasn’t too late.


	13. Finding Paige

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our motley group of spies find Paige and disable the tracker, only to run into a set of new problems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Figured Paige would disable the tracker because it just seemed appropriate for her to do it. Also, sorry this is so short — next chapter will be longer, I promise.

It was a good thing that most of the First Order was asleep when Rose, Finn and Lando snuck out to find Paige. The stormtroopers were also asleep, but it didn’t mean that they didn’t leave a sort of contraption that Rose had to undo in order to actually open the door to Paige’s cell.

Rose paused, taking in her sister, strapped to the torture rack, before running towards her and tinkering with the restraints before they clicked open.

Paige grinned. “Boy are you a sight for sore eyes, Rose.”

She got off the rack, and she and Rose embraced tightly. Even seeing the scene was a relief, though Finn also wondered what that would be like, having a family to go back to.

“Good job,” Lando said. “We can probably talk later. Right now, we need to disable the tracker.”

“Tracker?” Paige said. “Yeah, I think they were talking about building some sort of hyperspace tracker. But...it was my fault. I tried to fight back, but Ren — ’’

“Oh, Paige!” Rose hugged her again. “It wasn’t your fault; he was sick, plain and simple.”

“But the Resistance...they’re in danger.”

“Even without what Ren found, the First Order would have found a way,” Finn said. “Trust me.”

Paige nodded, hesitantly. “Then we need to turn off that tracker,” she said.

“You’ve done this before?” Lando said.

“I’ve done my share of tinkering,” Paige said. “Come on!”

It took reading the schematics that Maz sent to them, but they found the room with the hyperspace tracker.

“Work your magic,” Finn said, and Paige did so. One bit of tinkering later, including disabling the alarm systems that suddenly flared up, and the hyperspace tracker was put out of commission.

“We did it,” Finn said. “Let’s get out of here.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” a familiar metallic-sounding female voice said.

Finn turned around, only to realize that Phasma and her troops had essentially cornered them in the tracker room, and there was no place to run or hide.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Luke leave Ach-To to save Finn, who, with Rose, Paige and Lando, is in a bit of a pickle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Figured I’d add in an explanation of Rey’s piloting skills, as I admit that it stretched my suspension of disbelief in TFA (as much as I love that movie). I mean, a girl who’s lived on Jakku since she was five waiting for her family to come back, and she’s suddenly an expert pilot? A little bit of a stretch, Abrams. 
> 
> Also, I figured that Luke would get off Ach-To here because it struck me as cowardly to just send an illusion of himself across the galaxy. Like, grow a pair and fight your nephew yourself, in person. Better yet, try to redeem him! You did it with Vader, and Vader killed children, for God’s sake. Not to mention condoning genocide and forcing his own daughter watch her planet get blown up, committing genocide twice, choking his pregnant wife, etc., but that’s a whole other rant. Point is, why is Ben/Kylo any different? Oh right, because Luke’s an idiot. 
> 
> But I digress. 
> 
> Also took out Hux slapping Finn because honestly, unnecessary. As for Hux and Phasma’s fates, those just happened. Hope you enjoy this chapter!

When the vision came, it came in flashes, but Rey already knew that Finn was in danger. Cuffed, in a turbolift, surrounded by stormtroopers...she didn’t know exactly why he was wearing a First Order uniform, but it didn’t matter. Finn was in danger. She had to go get him.

Even telling Luke, Luke went suddenly, very pale. “They’ll likely execute him.” he said.

“Then we have no time to waste,” Rey said.

Luke paused. “For your sake,” he said, “I’ll help you. I admit it will be strange getting back into the fight again.”

Rey grinned. “Welcome back. I think you might turn the tide.”

Even entering the Falcon, Luke looked around, almost like he was just taking in being back. “I know this place,” he said. “I remember first time I laid eyes on it.” A chuckle. “I used to think that it was just a piece of junk. But looks can definitely be deceiving.”

“It’s our piece of junk,” Rey said. She sat in the cockpit. Luke looked at her curiously.

“You’ve piloted before?”

“On Jakku,” Rey said. “It passed the time...waiting for my parents to come back. And it helped pick up some artifacts for Plutt...my...” She paused. “Boss, of sorts. If not for my skills, I don’t think I’d be here. You have to be tough on Jakku.”

“I can imagine. I’m...sorry that you went through that.”

“It’s all right,” Rey said.

None of it was okay, but Rey was all right. First time piloting the Falcon had been a little clumsy, but Rey had managed. Now she was getting better. It was just a matter of knowing the ship.

Rey started up the ship, and they blasted off from Ach-To, leaving part of Luke Skywalker’s past behind.

***

The turbolift ride with the other stormtroopers seemed to take forever. Phasma had already reported to the bridge, and Finn, Rose, Paige and Lando were alone.

“You’re FN-2187,” said one of the stormtroopers. “The traitor.” A beat. “How could you do that?”

Finn took a deep breath. “What’s your name?” he said.

“FN-2004. Why did you do it?”

Finn sighed. In truth, there were a whole multitude of reasons. So many reasons he’d left — but ultimately, he said, “Because it was the right thing to do.”

“How?”

“What the First Order’s doing is wrong.”

FN-2004 turned her head. “Well, that’s just because of the Resistance. If they weren’t there — ’’

“Did Phasma teach you that?”

“Well — ’’

“Phasma doesn’t care about you,” Finn said. “She was willing to sell you out to the Resistance to save her own skin.”

The stormtrooper went quiet. She clearly hadn’t thought of that. Didn’t even know that, actually.

Finn continued. “And Hux doesn’t care about you either. He sees you just as cannon fodder. Something to brag about, maybe. The Resistance can give you freedom, in ways that the First Order couldn't.”

The stormtrooper turned her head. She seemed to be thinking about it. Then, “Phasma will kill us if we fight back.”

“We’ll protect you,” Rose said.

The stormtrooper said nothing, but the turn of her head, that slightly worried turn, said it all.

They stepped out of the turbolift, and FN-2004 turned to look at them. “Good luck,” she said.

Finn, Rose and Lando stepped to the bridge. Already, the crowds had gathered to watch the newest exposure of Resistance spies. Some of the First Order officers watched, clearly anticipating what was going to happen. Finn had never witnessed one of those exposures, but he had heard stories about them.

Now it looked like he, Rose, Lando and Paige were going to be the subject of one of those exposures.

The stormtroopers forced them to their knees, and Finn felt the coldness of the floor beneath them, the impact even as he was forced to kneel. He felt sick, being all but forced to kneel for that sick bastard Hux’s amusement. He made a point to glare up at Hux, because he would be damned if Hux ever saw him cringe or cry.

Hux loomed above him, Phasma by his side. Well, that wasn’t the right word; Hux wasn’t even a terribly tall man, but from Finn’s position on his knees, he almost seemed to loom. Kylo Ren loomed, but Hux seemed almost small and weasel-like. He sneered down at Finn, Rose, Lando and Paige.

“FN-2187,” he said. “You thought you could make a fool out of me?”

“The name’s Finn. And honestly,” Finn said, “I think I already did.”

“Call yourself what you will. You’ll never change who you are — a coward and a traitor.”

“I’d rather be that than a murderer like you.”

Hux laughed, harshly. “I see no point in arguing with a traitor like you. You may have humiliated me once, but you’ve done it for the last time.”

“A quick death is too good for them,” Phasma said. She turned towards her troopers. “I think an execution is in order.”

Even that was enough to make Finn’s blood run cold. Execution. It was the sort of thing where the prisoners were given that sentence just for show. Hux usually played the reader for those executions. Or Kylo Ren.

Hux inhaled. Then, “Beings of the First Order, this is indeed a glorious day. After all this time, several of these Resistance scum have finally been captured, and we are fully intent on giving them _the fate they deserve_!”

Hux didn’t see FN-2004. But Finn did. And FN-2004, just as the other stormtroopers were about to lower their weapons onto the group, fired.

The stormtroopers fell, and Hux turned to look at FN-2004. Shock crossed his features, and genuine fear. It was satisfying to see, Finn had to admit. And as they got to their feet, Rose drew something from her pocket.

Hux laughed. “A taser? That’s pitiful — ’’

Rose fired. Hux fell to the ground.

Finn looked at her in astonishment. “You — ’’

Rose nodded. “Had a feeling that I would need to use something like that.”

Phasma, meanwhile, raised her weapon. “A quick death is too good for you, FN-2187,” she said, and Finn could hear the anger all but bubbling beneath the surface of her voice. She drew her weapon. “To the death. Yours.”

“To yours, _Lieutenant_.”

Finn drew his weapon, and the battle began. Their weapons clashed, even as Lando, Paige and Rose assisted by shooting at Phasma. Some of the blaster bolts didn’t make much of an impact on her chrome armor, but others at least managed to make a dent in it. They struggled, and Finn had to admit that he was impressed. She was strong, incredibly strong. Even as the chaos raged around them, stormtroopers taking aim at First Order officers, other stormtroopers shooting at those stormtroopers, Finn wondered if he stood a chance against Phasma.

He pressed his weapon against hers again, pushing it towards her shoulder, where Phasma hissed behind her mask. Another hiss even as Finn did it again.

“Do you think you can win, traitor?” Phasma said. “Why do you fight?”

“Because I’ve got something to fight for.”

They continued to swipe at each other, Finn dodging her blows, swiping at her all the while. Finally, Phasma was down on the ground, looking up at Finn — he couldn’t read her expression behind the mask, but the layers of hate in her voice could not be clearer.

“Go on, traitor,” she said. “Kill me. You’re nothing more than a piece of scum. Resistance scum. You think you’re better than the rest of us, but you’re nothing. You were born nothing. Kill me, if it’ll satisfy your self-righteous need for revenge.”

Finn paused. It would be tempting to kill her. And yet, he wondered, was Phasma once like him? Had she been taken from her family, a family that she’d never known, as well?

He turned to Rose. “Stun her.”

Rose did so — with a lot of enthusiasm, Finn couldn’t help but notice. Rose looked at him. “Even after what she did to you — ’’

“It might help destabilize the First Order’s stormtroopers,” Finn said. “At least, she won’t kidnap anyone else.”

“Maybe,” Rose said.

It was then that Finn felt something. Something uneasy, something that was too familiar.

“Rose,” he said, “Lando. Keep an eye on the other stormtroopers. And Phasma, and Hux.” Just leaving him there was too risky. Besides, Hux rotting in a prison cell was very deserved at the moment. “I’m going to find Rey.”

“I’m going with you,” Rose said. “You’re not going off by yourself.”

Lando nodded. “I’ll take care of things from here,” he said. “You find your friend.”

Paige nodded. “Be careful,” she said.

“We will,” Finn said.

And he hoped, as he and Rose headed out to find Rey, that it wasn’t too late.


	15. Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Poe has a talk with Hux.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Fair warning, Hux is pretty disturbing in this chapter. This isn’t the goofy “General Hugs" scene you get at the beginning of the original TLJ; this is pretty unsettling. I actually felt uneasy writing this chapter.

“You got the General of the First Order and the Captain of the First Order?” Poe said.

“Lieutenant, technically,” Lando said. “But yes.”

They sat in the meeting room, where many others were gathered. Kaydel Ko Connix, Jessika Pava, Paige Tico (who still seemed a bit shaken from her ordeal) and plenty more.

“That’s quite a feat,” Poe said. “And Rose...actually tasered Hux?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s...something. You’ve definitely gone above and beyond in this mission. Even with getting captured.” Poe grinned at Lando, clapped him on the shoulder. “Welcome to the Resistance, Lando. You did beautifully.”

The others started clapping. Lando grinned. Then he said, more seriously, “We’re not out of the woods yet. Finn and Rose still have to rescue a friend of theirs. Can’t remember her name — ’’

“Rey?” Poe said. “Then we have to rescue her.” He sighed. “We have every opportunity to land a strike on Supreme Leader Snoke’s flagship. We’d best not waste it.”

“We could ram it.” one of the Resistance members said.

“I’m not risking anyone’s life here,” said Poe. “Finn and Rose are onboard. So’s Rey. Ramming them would just kill them.” He ran a hand through his hair. “And meanwhile, there’s what to do with Hux and Phasma.”

“They’ve got information.”

“We are not the First Order,” Poe said. “We don’t torture our prisoners.”

“They aren’t exactly innocent angels!”

Poe took a deep breath. “I’m aware that you want Hux and Phasma both to face punishment for what they did,” he said. “Believe me, they will. But we are not going to torture them. We are better than the First Order.”

“Being too easy on them, huh?” the Resistance member sneered. “Just a prison cell. Just a prison cell, for the bastard who blew up the Hosnian system and the schutta who stole children away. They deserve worse and you know it, Dameron. Or did you forget?”

Poe took a deep breath. “I didn’t,” he said. “And don’t you even suggest I have. Their final judgment will come after the battle, and I promise you, Hux and Phasma will face punishment for what they’ve done.”

“Punishment,” the Resistance member sneered. “That’ll show ‘em. Best punishment for everyone is if they’re executed.”

The crowd practically roared in agreement. Poe couldn’t say he liked either Hux or Phasma — indeed, they were monstrous — but at least the amount of anger in the crowd was enough to unsettle him.

It was later, walking away with Holdo, that the latter turned to look at him. “Are you all right?”

Poe rubbed his temples. “Some people get scary when they’re whipped into a frenzy,” he said.

“Well,” Holdo said. “A lot of them lost loved ones to these...wastes of skin.” Her voice became layered with disgust even as she said it.

“Tell me something I don’t know. It’s not like I don’t care, Admiral, but — ’’

“You’ve been tortured.”

“Yeah.” Poe could still remember that dark room, the stormtroopers’ fists beating down on him, and later, Kylo Ren tearing through his defenses. “I was. Besides, General Organa never did torture, and for good reason. We’re not the First Order.”

“No,” Holdo said. “We aren’t.”

They continued down towards the prison cells, where Hux and Phasma were being held. Different cells. One of the guards turned to look at Poe and Holdo.

“You’re here to see them, aren’t you?” the guard said.

“Yeah,” Poe said.

“There’s no use reasoning with them,” said the guard. “The General’s a fanatic, and so is the Lieutenant. They’re not people you want to reason with.”

“I’m not here to reason with them,” Poe said.

“Good. Just be careful. They’re dangerous.”

The guard moved aside, still an ever-present observer, looking at the interactions between Holdo, Poe, and the man who had become known as the Butcher of The Hosnian System.

In his cell, Hux didn’t seem as intimidating as he seemed in his other speeches, some of which Poe had actually seen broadcast to the galaxy. He was thin, barefoot, and there was something about his features that seemed to be pulled into a permanent scowl.

“Poe Dameron,” he said. “Come to gloat?”

Gloating was tempting. Poe was going to admit that much. Seeing the man who destroyed the Hosnian System behind bars was satisfying. But that was not the reason that Poe Dameron was here.

He was here for a better reason.

“II have questions for you.”

“If you think that torture can get the answers you need from me, you are a fool.”

“We’re not here to torture you.” Hux was a monster without a doubt, but the Resistance was not the First Order, and Poe Dameron would not use torture on a prisoner. “We are not the First Order.”

“You think you’re better than us then?” Hux sneered.

We are, Poe thought, but he didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he said, “I assure you, after this battle, we’ll deal with you as we see fit.”

“As you see fit,” Hux sneered. “You Resistance scum think you’re better than the rest of us, don’t you? You aren’t. It’s only in your fantasies that you are even remotely heroes. You’re terrorists and war criminals to the core.”

And it was there that the anger began building behind Poe’s eyes. _Terrorists. War criminals._ It was all wrong, of course.

“Funny,” he said, “I could say the same thing about you. Why did you blow up the Hosnian system, General?”

“They were complicit.”

“They were innocent beings!”

Hux laughed, harshly. “There are no such things as innocent beings.”

“They were all innocent,” Poe said. “None of them deserved to die. None of them.” He took a deep breath. “We still have a lot to do, but that being said...when this is all over, you and Phasma both will face punishment.”

“So the Resistance is crying out for my blood now?” Hux said coolly.

“We’ll see about that,” Poe said.

“Your lot are savages. In every way.”

“We’re still better than you’ll ever be,” Poe said. “The Resistance courts will decide your fate.” He turned to Holdo. “Come on.”

They left, and Holdo said, “Thank goodness we’re away from him. I have to say, I was worried about you.”

“Were you?”

“I’ve seen that look on your face before. Just with other people. I don’t want you going over the edge.”

“I won’t,” Poe said. “Cross my heart.”


	16. Collide

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Luke get captured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Short chapter is short, I know. But I promise in terms of Snoke, I’ve got something truly special (to quote him) planned.

In a way, flying towards the _Liberator_ was too easy. Even as Rey took in the ship for the first time — and it was enormous, practically blotting out the stars — she knew immediately that there was something wrong in the fact that no one was firing on them.

“It’s too quiet,” she said.

“They’re waiting for us,” Luke said grimly. “Waiting for us to make our move.”

Rey couldn’t disagree with that. After all, the ship was so still, so quiet, that it had to be waiting for them.

It could be a trap. But traps worked both ways, didn’t they?

They piloted the Falcon into the hangar in that moment, and Rey felt the ship come to a halt, rest on the hangar floor.

She got out. She could already feel something too familiar — the last time that she had felt something like that, it had been through the Force when she’d felt it for the first time, and felt his presence.

“The murderous snake...” she said.

“Rey,” Luke said. “Whatever happens, we’re going to face him. Together.”

There was a pinch of agony in his voice, almost like the very idea of calling Kylo Ren a murderous snake made Luke uncomfortable. Rey couldn’t say why. Kylo had destroyed Luke’s academy, after all, and done all these horrible things — why would Luke still care for him?

They were ambushed the moment they got out. Rey sliced down stormtroopers who fired at her, as did Luke, only for a feeling to come over her like she was frozen. She knew that feeling. On Takodana, she knew it.

Luke, meanwhile, spoke in a hushed voice. “Ben.”

Kylo Ren stepped out of the shadows, hooded and masked this time.

“So, Skywalker,” he said, his masked voice having a hint of scorn in it, “What made the coward come out of hiding?”

There were more armored figures. Rey could recognize them from when she had had that vision when she’d touched Anakin’s lightsaber. And she knew in that moment that there was nowhere to run.

“Ben, please,” Luke said. “Don’t hurt her.”

“I have no intention of doing so. The Supreme Leader has been waiting for you for a long time, Skywalker.”

“Has he?” Luke said.

“Yes.”

Luke swallowed. “Lead on, then.”

The armored figures led Rey and Luke into the throne room, and Rey couldn’t help but notice how overwhelmingly red everything was. So much red. Red walls, seeming to overwhelm just about everything. And at the end of the room was Snoke himself.

Rey suddenly felt as if her blood ran cold. It wasn’t just the vision she had seen in the cave. No, she knew this man. Somehow. A man with eyes like the Jakku sky, a living shadow in the darkness.

— a woman with brown hair like Rey’s, facing against the living shadow with her red lightsaber drawn. —

Snoke spoke. His voice was almost amiable in nature, even fatherly. Perhaps he could have been somebody’s father.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he said, “Ren-daughter.”

Rey couldn’t help but feel like she’d been hit in the gut. And yet she knew that it was the truth. In a way, she’d known it all along. Her memories had been blurred and fragmented, but she had known it all along.

She stood before Snoke, willing herself to stay steady even in the face of this revelation. All the while, she knew that this was going to be one of her toughest tests yet. Facing the monster of her nightmares. One of many nightmares.

She could only hope she was up to the challenge. 

 


	17. Death of a Supreme Leader

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Luke duel Snoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Figured I’d change Snoke’s death here. I thought his death in TLJ was rather weak, so I figured I’d have him put up more of a fight here. And I figured I’d also make him less of a mustache-twirler.

“I remember,” Rey said. “I remember you.” Her mother had given Snoke more of those scars. Just to protect her daughter from him. Snoke had wanted her as an apprentice, as another Knight of Ren.

“Of course you do,” Snoke said, his voice layered with disgust. “Your mother was a traitor and a fool. She believed that somehow I had become evil. Tell me, child, what I do...is that evil?”

“Yes.” Rey said.

“So you’ve been told, no doubt.”

It was then that a red-robed figure approached the Supreme Leader. “Lord Snoke,” the figure said, “The Resistance is attacking.”

“Send ships to defend the Liberator,” Snoke said, and Rey could swear that even beneath his voice, there was something else — genuine hatred, seething beneath the surface.

“Yes, Supreme Leader.

Snoke looked thoughtful even as the figure left, a bony finger tapping his chin. “How many Resistance ships are going to show up for the sake of glory?” he said. “And how many are simply going to run away?”

“You underestimate the Resistance,” Rey said.

Snoke laughed; it sounded rough, humorless. “Child, I have been fighting the Resistance longer than you’ve been involved, and I’ve fought worthier foes than them. The Resistance are imbeciles with delusions of grandeur. No, that is too kind. They’re monsters, all of them. A loveless mother, and her team of terrorists, bullies, scoundrels, thieves, murderers...” A beat. “Tell me, child, why did you join the Resistance?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice.”

“So you say. And I believe you. If you had anywhere else to go, child of Ren, would you be there?”

That was a question that Rey herself wasn’t certain about. She would have all but preferred it if Snoke had just ordered her murdered. She would have known what to do there.

“If I had anywhere else to go, I wouldn’t have joined the First Order.”

“Are the Resistance any better, child? They’re terrorists. Not to mention bullies, elitists, fools, thieves. They took up their role because they wanted to relive their glory days. No more, no less.”

“The Hosnian system — ’’

“ — was unpleasant business. I will not deny that. But it was necessary.”

“Necessary that so many people had to die?”

“Yes.”

Luke spoke up. “No empire of any sort should be built on the backs of casualties.”

Snoke laughed, harshly. It sounded like a bark. “So speaks the man who destroyed the First Death Star without remorse. Of course, your sister gives out medals for mass murder. It seems that when it comes to mass murder, Luke Skywalker is unassailable. Does the act of destroying a space station make you feel like a man?”

“It was kill or be killed — ’’

“You’re just unassailable. Blameless. Incorruptible. Beyond reproach. So you believe yourself to be. But you are no hero, Luke Skywalker. You may be a good facsimile of one, but you are no hero. And so you must face justice. Luke Skywalker, I hereby sentence you to execution based on the murders of multiple Imperial soldiers, as well as the murder of your father.”

“I didn’t kill my father,” Luke said.

“You good as manipulated him into a murder-suicide,” said Snoke. “Does that count?”

Luke actually looked flabbergasted. More than that, heartbroken. He obviously didn’t expect his trying (and succeeding) to save his father to end up like this.

“He’s not a murderer,” Rey said.

“If he told you that, then he’s a liar. And a terrible one at that.” Snoke ignited his lightsaber just then, a double bladed red one —

— only for Rey and Luke’s lightsabers to meet it. The red-robed figures, as well as the other armored figures, rose into action, only for Snoke to gesture them back. “This is my fight,” he said. “Something I have to do alone.”

“Is it, Lord?” one of the armored figures said.

“Yes,” said Snoke. “Stay back.”

The battle began, and Rey couldn’t help but be amazed at how strong Snoke was, for lack of a better word. Despite the twistedness of his body, he moved with a sort of grace and experience that must have pre-dated the Clone Wars themselves. It took just about all of Rey’s Jakku-learned reflexes to keep her feet from being cut off by the spinning blades.

“You’ve some skill with the blade,” Snoke said, “But your form is sloppy. Unrefined. You are a good mimic, but hardly a testament to the days of old. I’ve fought opponents far more powerful than you, child.”

“Have you?” Rey said.

“Yes.”

Blue. Red. Green. The blades clashed. They fought, only for Snoke to lift her, suddenly, into the air.

Rey screamed. She couldn’t help herself. It felt like white hot pain was flowing through her body. And as suddenly as it started, she fell back down, stumbling to her feet — Luke had distracted Snoke. Rey struck at the middle of his lightsaber, then the front blade, but it seemed that Snoke was strong. Truly strong.

Footsteps. Rey knew, through the Force, that it was Finn and a young woman she couldn’t say she’d met before. Blaster bolts started firing, felling red robed figures, leaving at least nicks on Snoke. Rey fought, and eventually, it seemed, Snoke started to waver. She fought, and she hacked through Snoke’s lightsaber.

Snoke fell to the ground, holding two pieces of his lightsaber. A searing mark appeared on the center of his chest. Vertical. Black. He looked up, his eyes seeming to see something Rey didn’t before saying, “ _Ren_...I’ve finally found it.”

He went still in that moment, the wonder never dying from his face, his eyes staring up at something Rey could not see.


	18. Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which all hell breaks loose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: So I admit that I’m not quite happy with how I handled Kylo’s fate here. I hope this is still a good chapter, even if it’s short.

The moment that Snoke died, all hell broke loose. Rey doubted that she could count the amount of red-robed figures and armored figures that came at all of them. Even slicing them down, Rey found that it was slightly more difficult than she anticipated. One of the red-robed figures’ whips caught her on the shoulder, and she gritted her teeth in pain. Across from her, Finn and the young woman fired at the guards, felling them, even as Luke moved on to the armored figures. He sliced some of them down, looking pained even as he had to do so. Rey doubted it was a stretch if they were some of his former students, or if somehow, he’d known them, once upon a time.

Rey and Luke fought, and she noticed — in their last duel, Kylo Ren had been badly wounded, and holding back. Here, there was no such thing. He was not only unwounded, but angry. And yet there were some places where she swore that he was holding back...

Eventually, she drove him back, slashing across his helmet, and she swore that she saw a hint of his face there. A hint of unscarred flesh and a brown eye, glaring up at her before he rose again.

The ship shook with a blast. Rey stumbled, only for Finn to catch her. There was something about their lips that were both so very close now, Rey couldn’t help but notice, full lips that seemed inches away from hers...

“Let’s get going,” she said.

“Yeah. Introductions later.”

Luke was about to go back for Kylo Ren, only for rubble to cut him off. The ship shook again, and they ran — Rey could only hope they had made the right decision.

***  
Kylo Ren didn’t know how long it was before he woke, before he regained consciousness. For a moment, he had no idea what had happened, and then it dawned on him.

The girl. She had killed the Supreme Leader. She had killed him. Helped kill the Praetorian guards. The other Knights were wounded, some were dead. Even the absence of Snoke...

It was strange. It was horrifying. There was a strange, lonely emptiness where the Supreme Leader had been. Except, with Hux and Phasma missing, and Snoke dead...

Slowly, Kylo Ren walked towards the throne and sat down. Somehow, this all felt natural. Somehow, this all felt like what he was meant to be. Supreme Leader of the First Order. Bringing order to the galaxy where the Republic could not.

“What do we do now?” said one of the Knights. Lira Ren. “Snoke is dead, and the Resistance is coming for us.”

Kylo Ren paused. He knew that Poe Dameron was leading the Resistance. In a moment of weakness, when he was first beginning his career as Kylo Ren, he had promised Poe (in a letter that he never sent) that he would always love him. And years later, there was still a part of him that would always love Poe.

He unmasked. Slowly, at first, almost uncertainly. Without the mask, he felt almost naked. Lira looked at him, her head tilted.

“Let the past die,” he said. “Kill it, if you have to. The time for hiding is over. The galaxy must look at us, so it can see that Ben Solo is dead, and Kylo Ren has taken his place. When they walk away, they’ll remember Kylo Ren. I’m certain of it.”

“And the Resistance?”

“Fight them to a standstill. Do not let them escape.” A beat. “I’ll be going with you. This is my fight as well.”

“They’ll need you as Supreme Leader — ’’

“Do you doubt me?”

“No.”

“Good.” Kylo Ren stood up, and headed out of the room in that moment, the Knights of Ren at his front. Using the Force to clear the way was simple as that. No matter what the Resistance did, Kylo Ren would find them. And that was the utmost truth. 


	19. Uncle and Nephew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo and Luke face off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Special thanks to the SW Writing Alliance Discord chat for their write-in challenge that helped me complete this chapter. Also, figured I’d tweak Luke’s death a lot here as I wasn’t happy with it. At all. Like, at all at all.

The Falcon landed on Crait, and Rey turned to look at Luke, who looked for all intents and purposes, like he’d seen a ghost.

“Are you okay?” she said.

“I haven’t been here in too long,” Luke said. “I still have a lot to apologize for, in terms of leaving.”

Rey put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll help you,” she said. She turned to the young woman, a round-faced, almost innocent-looking young woman with dark eyes, and smiled. “I’m Rey, by the way.”

“Rose Tico. Is that...Luke Skywalker?”

Rey nodded.

“That’s...amazing.”

Luke smiled, but it was a slightly uneasy smile. “Maybe we can talk about this after,” he said. “We have a Resistance to save.”

“Yeah.” The young woman looked out at the landscape of Crait. “They’re going to be coming for us. We better fight back.”

“We can and we will,” Rey said. “Promise.”

***  
Meeting Rey for the first time was cut short by the alarms going off. “First Order walkers spotted on the horizon,” the voice over the speakers said. “I repeat, First Order walkers spotted on the horizon.”

Poe sighed. “Looks like we’ve got a lot of company,” he said. “Send all the snowspeeders out.”

The snowspeeders headed out in that moment, and Poe knew it was reckless without a doubt. It didn’t mean that he couldn’t at least try to fight back.

He looked through the binoculars even as a familiar Upsilon shuttle landed. Kylo Ren’s shuttle.

Ben Solo emerged.

No, it couldn’t be, could it?

And it was in that moment that Poe’s galaxy felt like it had collapsed in on itself. It couldn’t be. Even as he struggled to keep a sabaac face, he found that it was difficult to do so. When it turned out that the man who had tortured you, who had invaded your mind, was the man you loved, your own husband at that, what did you do?

It couldn’t be. And yet here was the incontrovertible proof. The armor. The crossguard lightsaber. In hindsight, Poe should have known that was the first clue, but it was too horrifying, too terrible to even so much as consider...

“Poe?” Jess’ voice. “Poe! If he tries to hurt you again, he’ll have to go through all of us, understood?”

“Yeah.” Poe’s voice sounded ragged in that moment. “I’m not scared of him.” What I’ll do to him most definitely. Fighting Kylo Ren was conceivable. Fighting Ben was not. But he was Poe Dameron, Resistance Leader, and he had to be strong enough for all of them.

“We’re with you until the end,” Snap said.

Poe smiled. It was a faint thing, but it was there. “You don’t have to tell me, Snap,” he said. “I already know.”  
***  
Even seeing Leia for the first time in years was enough to make Luke already feel guilty for all but running away.

No. He hadn’t run away. He’d gone off to study, but that was just about it. Studying what went wrong, studying what exactly happened. And now he was back, confronting his sister who he hadn’t seen in six years. Though somehow, he thought, it seemed longer than that. Too much longer, actually.

Leia was already lying there, regaining consciousness from her incident with the Raddus, only to smile when Luke approached. “Luke,” she said. “I didn’t think you’d come back.”

“I know. And I’m sorry.” Even saying, “yeah, been busy” didn’t seem to make up for what he had done.

“It’s just good to have you back.”

“I can’t stay, really. Leia...I have to find your son.”

Leia looked at him in horror. “Are you going to kill him?”

“I never could.” Luke said. “He’s not gone, Leia. I know it. It may be just a flicker in there of Ben Solo, but I’m not going to let it die.” He got up. “I’m going to save him.”

Leia nodded. “Be careful,” she said.

“I will.” Luke said. He got up, and left.

Crait had never seemed so cold in this moment. At least, the last time that he had been on Crait, he hadn’t thought that it would be that lonely. But there it was. There was the loneliness, there was the feeling of staring into a wasteland and feeling the wasteland stare back at you, the whole feeling of being alone.

Outside was Kylo Ren. Ben, Luke reminded himself. The last time they’d faced off, Luke had tried to save him. It hadn’t succeeded. It was like Kylo Ren had thought of himself as too fundamentally dark to be saved, too fundamentally lost. No one was ever lost, though. After all, Vader had done his share of terrible things, and Luke had loved him still. You didn’t turn your back on family, no matter what it took.

Kylo Ren stood there, his lightsaber not quite ignited. It was resting at his side, and he was not wearing his mask. From there, Luke could take a good look at his face, at the face of his nephew. The scar running down the left side of his face mostly seemed to have healed, though it would always be a reminder of what exactly happened at Starkiller. But the rest of him was, simply, Ben. His nephew, nearly thirty now, but still Ben.

“Did you come out here to save me?” Kylo said, and there was a hint of scorn in his voice. “To forgive me?”

“What’s weak about that?”

“I want nothing to do with your idea of saving me.”

“Ben — ’’

“That is not my name!”

Even that hurt. “Did Snoke tell you that?”

“I decided it for myself,” Kylo said. “Long ago.”

Silence.

“I did everything,” Kylo said. “Everything you wanted. Everything you asked. I did everything I could to...to please someone as unworthy as you.”

“I know you did.” Luke doubted that he could argue the unworthy part. He had been unworthy, in many respects.

“How many years? Eight? Eight years, feeling like I didn’t belong. Eight years, being held back, kept in the dark, wanting to make you proud. Eight years of it.”

“I know.”

“I’m going to do what you never could. I’m going to create the perfect galaxy.”

“A perfect galaxy won’t come to fruition. Not under the First Order. You don’t realize that because Snoke didn’t, when he first built the First Order. He was chasing perfection, chasing what could never be.”

“You’re a liar.”

“You can read minds as much as anyone, Ben. Am I?”

Kylo Ren’s face flickered with a hint of uncertainty. Then, “What do you want, Skywalker?”

Skywalker. Like they were nothing more than strangers. Like they were just impersonal enemies standing out on the battlefield.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Why? I mean nothing to you. You...I wouldn’t be surprised if you wanted to kill me. Or pawn me off on someone else. I mean nothing to you, I mean nothing to the General of the Resistance, I meant nothing to Han Solo. Perhaps you only cared about me because it was an obligation.”

“You mean the galaxy to me.” And already, Luke felt his heart starting to break.

“I can’t go home, Luke.” It wasn’t “Uncle”, but it was at least a start. Not quite as impersonal. “You have no idea what I’ve done...”

“Your grandfather did terrible things too,” Luke said. “It doesn’t mean he was beyond redemption.” A beat. “Contrary to what you think, compassion isn’t just for those who deserve it. Compassion’s for everyone, no matter who they are, who they may be.” A beat. “And you’re my nephew. You’re invaluable to me.”

Silence. And in that moment, Luke was kicking himself for not saying it while Ben was still...Ben, really. It wasn’t that he hadn’t felt it, that sort of love that an uncle would have for his nephew, but he hadn’t said it enough.

“You wanted me to be proud of you,” he said. “You didn’t have to, Ben.” Not when I was feeling the same way.

Ben’s anger seemed to be dissipating in that moment. Then, “It’s too late, Luke.”

He drew his lightsaber, and the duel began. Ben was getting better, Luke wouldn’t deny, but he was still nowhere close to a master. They fought, Ben taking Luke’s Force powers, blasts of the Force to push him back like they were soft breezes knocking him over. He kept coming. In turn, he struck out at Luke, managing to nick his arms, before finally —

— stabbing through Luke’s heart.

From a distance, he could feel Rey’s agony, but as he fell to the hand of Kylo Ren’s lightsaber, he felt no more pain. The white-hot heat of the lightsaber seemed to fade away, and it was replaced by an old saying that Master Yoda had once quoted to him.

“Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter.”

He was effectively dead, but he did not feel fear. Instead, he felt sorrow, if only for those he was leaving behind — even for the man who had done this, Kylo Ren.

He felt the lightsaber withdraw from him, and he reached out, took Kylo’s hand.

 _I forgive you_ , he thought, before all went black. 


	20. Leader of the Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe Dameron has to make a critical choice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Short chapter is short, I know. Also, thank you to the SW Writing Alliance Discord for their write-in challenge that allowed me to complete this.

The battle outside continued on even long after Luke Skywalker’s death. It was almost like some sort of rallying cry for the Resistance. For Luke Skywalker, they might as well have said, even as they attacked the AT-ATs, taking them down with cables and plenty more. For Luke Skywalker, they might as well have said even as they fired at stormtroopers, the Knights of Ren, anyone within their sight. Poe continued giving orders, all the while feeling like he should be doing more. Getting out in the field and doing what he could.

It was after what seemed like a long time that they fought Kylo Ren to a standstill.

The AT-ATs had been taken down. The Knights of Ren were all but wounded. And now Poe Dameron had to make a choice. He thought back, unbidden, to Holdo’s words.

If you haven’t made the hard decisions, I daresay that you haven’t really been tested.

Holdo’s words came back to him in that moment, and Poe knew that she was right. He took a deep breath. “Attention, Kylo Ren,” he said, “You’re beaten. You’re outnumbered. You have one chance to surrender and avoid any more bloodshed. You have an option to stop the war here. Surrender, and we’ll spare you.”

Holdo turned to look at him. “Interesting choice.”

“Just doing my job as Resistance Leader, Vice Admiral.”

And because he is still my Ben. Forever. Because I hate him and love him all at once. Stars willing.

He swore something faltered in Kylo Ren’s eyes. Too expressive eyes, as they always were. Then, “It’s too late.”

“It’s not.” Poe looked at Kylo Ren, trying in vain to disguise the fear, the desperate hope fluttering around inside him like a flock of mynocks trapped. “Surrender, and we will show you mercy.”

“I know enough about Resistance mercy.”

“Do you?” Ben, he mentally finished.

“Yes. There’s only one way this will end. In either one of our deaths, or both of ours.”

“It won’t.”

“It will. Unless you join me.”

Poe felt immediately like he’d been hit in the gut. Ben... He took a deep breath. “That’s something I can’t do.”

“Then there’s only one way this can end.” Kylo drew his lightsaber.

Poe took a deep breath. By the stars, this was going to be one of the hardest things he ever did. He turned towards the gunners. “Open fire,” he said.


	21. Rematch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rey and Kylo duke it out once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

“Open fire.”

And Kylo Ren knew that it was just one of many (and definitely not the last one) people who had finally betrayed him. Who had finally turned on him. There were countless people, of course, and it seemed that Poe was just the latest in a very long line of beings. Damn him.

He barely managed to deflect the laser fire coming at him before finally freezing the laser fire in place. Good. He could move forward. Behind him, the laser fire exploded in a shower of sparks.

He continued forward, and more laser fire exploded at him, which he froze. The Resistance already knew that they were effectively doomed. Doomed without a Jedi on their side, at least.

Of course, the scavenger was there in order to stop him.

Of course it was the scavenger.

She stepped out of the base on Crait, and there was anger in her stature, anger in her eyes, everything in her seemed to be boiling. It was the same anger that he had seen in the forest. The same anger that had allowed her to beat him while he had already been badly wounded. In the end, it really was that anger that allowed her to beat him. And he did not begrudge her for it. She was strong. She could become his apprentice. That was something that he could do. Something that he could accept. His grand vision for the galaxy, with Poe Dameron and the scavenger by the side (Poe in his arms).

She wouldn’t see it at first. But she would.

“We’re not done yet,” she said, and Kylo could feel her fury in that moment. Skywalker had meant something to her, even in that short amount of time.

Had Skywalker been like a father figure to her? He would disappoint her if he was. That was all he was, just a disappointment — and yet Kylo could remember how even after what he had done, he had forgiven Kylo...

“We’re not.” he said.

They ignited their lightsabers, and Rey practically ran towards him, lightsaber raised high. It took time to fight off her ferocity, but Kylo managed. He had fought other Jedi in the past, after all; it was not for nothing that he was called Jedi Killer. Some had been easy, some had been hard, but in the end, he had managed to finish them off. They fought, they struggled, and Kylo could not help but realize that by the stars, she’d gotten better somehow. Like she was already good and somehow had gotten better.

“Come with me,” he said.

“I never would.”

“You need a teacher.” It had backfired last time around and yet Kylo Ren was clinging to that faint scrap of hope that Rey would take it. “I can show you the ways of the Force. Everything Skywalker denied you.”

“Don’t you even speak his name.”

Rey drove him back, and Kylo knew that once she got angry there was no stopping her. She slashed at him, knocking him to the ground. He tried getting up, only for her to force him back down again. Her anger had taken over, and she was too strong, far too strong —

“Rey! Stop!”

Luke’s voice.

They both stopped. Rey seemed to hesitate in that moment, looking up at the shimmering figure of Luke Skywalker. He spoke then. “You don’t have to do this, Rey.”

“He’s a monster.”

“And you’re just on the edge. There’s a whole legacy of anger in the Jedi Order; it just depends on how you handle it, Rey.”

Silence. Rey was regaining her breath. Breathing heavily, almost Vader-like. Finally, she deactivated Anakin’s lightsaber. Offered her hand. Her face was still stony; there was no compassion in it, just anger. But she was reaching out to him.

Kylo shook his head, got to his feet. “Imagine what we could do. Together.”

“Never.”

“You’ll see in time,” Kylo said. “I know you will.”

He walked away, tired in that moment, and suddenly wondering if he was doing the right thing. No, he was. There was everything wrong with the Resistance. There was nothing wrong with them. Absolutely nothing. She’d understand. She and Poe both...they’d understand. They had to.

The Knights of Ren faced him in that moment. “Your orders?” Lira said.

Kylo took a deep breath. “No matter where they go, we’ll find them,” he said. “And that is a promise. We’ll have to fall back for the time being, but when we are well...there will be no place for the Resistance to hide.”


	22. Eulogy for a Jedi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poe speaks with Leia, and a funeral service is conducted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I own nothing. 
> 
> Author’s Notes: Well, this is the end (for now). We are not at the end of this rewrite, though; we have one episode to go. I hope I enjoy writing that as much as I did this.

The thing about the battle was that just because the battle was over didn’t mean that the damage was all but nonexistent. There were still some people who needed to be patched up. Repairs that needed to be done. And then there was the fact that Poe Dameron still had a lot of stuff to process. For example, the fact that Ben Solo was Kylo Ren.

It couldn’t be. And yet, clear as day, was the fact that the man he loved’s face was underneath that mask. There was the crossguard lightsaber. There was the armor.

What had made Ben turn? Was Poe just not enough for him? Even that idea was enough to hurt.

And then came the questions that Poe Dameron didn’t want to think about. How long had General Organa known? Why hadn’t she told him? Had she wanted Ben....dead?

Even that thought was enough to make Poe all but dizzy thinking about it.

He kept himself busy. Kalonia was already attending to the patients who needed to be taken care of, who had been injured in the battle. There would be a funeral for them, same as for Han Solo, same as for the people who had died during the attack on Starkiller Base. There needed to be equipment repaired. So many things, actually. There were so many things that needed to be fixed, and Poe didn’t know where to start...

He sat down. Leia was with him, and in the past, her presence would have been a comfort. Here, it was the exact opposite.

“Poe?” she said. “Is everything all right?”

Poe took a deep breath. He didn’t know where to begin, truthfully. Finally, he said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“About what?”

“Ben!” Poe said, and it was there that the anger began to rise. He shouldn’t have been angry at Leia. He couldn’t be angry at Leia, and yet it seemed that everything, everything that he was feeling was already leaking over. Ben’s disappearance. The torture. Everything. “Why didn’t you tell me that he was...that?”

Leia sighed. “I think we should be discussing this in private,” she said.

“Fair enough.” Poe said. Private was good. Private could keep him, at least, from losing his temper. Hopefully, at least.

It was in private that he said, “So why didn’t you tell me?”

Leia sighed. “There was no right way to tell you. I wanted to protect you from him, but that...that turned out badly. I never dreamed that he would hurt you, and yet I knew — ’’

“So you knew.” Something in Poe broke even more. Leia had known, when she sent Poe to Jakku, that Ben was Kylo Ren. She had known. Had she known that Ren would —

Even remembering what Ren — what Ben — had done was enough to make Poe’s head swim with emotions that he didn’t know how to process. Love, hate — they were just two sides of the same credit chip, weren’t they?

Had she known? Dear stars, had she known...

“I knew that he wasn’t Ben anymore,” Leia said. “I knew that he wasn’t the man you loved. He was...gone. There was too much Vader in him.”

“Not at the beginning there wasn’t.”

“There were always hints.”

“He was a boy.” Poe didn’t think that he would actually be defending this man, and yet, here he was. At least, he was defending the man that used to be. The man he’d loved.

“And he still had too much Vader in him. It’s true, Poe. You know it.”

“He fell because he fell,” Poe said. “Vader had nothing to do with it.”

“He always had that shadow hanging over him.”

“And it wasn’t his fault!”

“Of course not. It was Vader’s. And Snoke’s.”

“What do you mean by Snoke?” Already, Poe felt sick.

“Snoke was stalking Ben from the beginning.”

And somehow, it seemed that Poe’s galaxy was collapsing all over again. From the beginning. Even before they’d met, that monster was stalking the man he loved and Poe couldn’t do anything about it, because he didn’t know, because no one told him the truth...

“I need to sit down,” he said. “Really.”

Leia looked at him with the utmost compassion. “I don’t blame you.”

Poe sat down. The best way he could describe it was like being hit by a runaway speeder gone out of control. Snoke had been hunting the man he loved for so long that he hadn’t stood a chance —

 _Oh, Ben, angel, why couldn’t you have told me? I could have saved you_. And yet, Poe wondered, could he have? Ben had told him about the nightmares, but not the ever present shadow of Snoke stalking him from before he was born.

Had he just had no idea?

All of it was too likely. And yet Poe couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if he had been able to save Ben. To just alleviate the whispers in his head for a while. Anything at all. Replacing Snoke’s whispers with his own. If he could have, he would have.

“We have to bring him home,” he said. “No matter what.” Because even after all this time, he would never stop looking for Ben. Part of why he’d gone to Tuanul was to look for Ben.

“Just be careful, Poe.”

Poe smiled, faintly. “Cross my heart.”

***

The funeral for Luke Skywalker was a simple thing. Leia gave the eulogy, and Rey couldn’t help but think that she did a good job considering the circumstances of losing her brother. She spoke of his life, how they met, even managing to get some chuckles out of their first meeting.

“And the First Order no doubt thinks our light’s gone out now that Luke Skywalker’s gone. But the Resistance will endure, the war is just beginning, and the Jedi are reborn today. They may be only a spark, but even a spark can set off a formidable fire.” Leia took a deep breath. It was clear that she was trying to keep her composure. “May the Force be with you, Luke. Always.”

They burned Luke’s body outside, and Rey liked to imagine that the fire was a beacon, a beacon to the First Order that no matter what, they would not be silenced. Finn squeezed her hand, and Rey smiled, faintly. It was a difficult thing. Like Leia said, the war had just begun.

But they would be there to meet it nonetheless.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Alternate Version) (FULL FANFIC COMING SOON!!!)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13028817) by [AO98](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AO98/pseuds/AO98)




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